What to watch: College football championship weekend viewing guide

Conference championship weekend is upon us.

Thanks to the dissolution of the Pac-12, we’re down to nine conference championship games this weekend. Three will be played on Friday night with Conference USA getting the party started before the AAC and Mountain West games kick off.

Saturday features the four power conferences along with the MAC and the Sun Belt. Here’s a look at the five conference title games that will shape the College Football Playoff field. The 12-team bracket will be announced Sunday afternoon.

All times are Eastern and all odds are from BetMGM.

Time: 8 p.m. Friday | TV: Fox | Line: Boise State -4 | Total: 57.5

It’s a rematch for the Mountain West title and a berth in the College Football Playoff.

Boise State traveled to Las Vegas in October and beat the Rebels, 29-24. A TD by Ashton Jeanty with 12:38 to go in the fourth quarter gave the Broncos a five-point lead after UNLV had retaken the lead in the third quarter.

Jeanty has a chance to make his last-ditch Heisman statement with a big game on Friday night, though it’ll likely be too little, too late, despite his fantastic season. Jeanty has rushed for 2,288 yards through 12 games so far and is two touchdowns away from 30 rushing scores. He’ll assuredly finish second to Colorado’s Travis Hunter in the Heisman voting.

Boise could also have safety Alexander Teubner back. Teubner is sixth on the team in tackles with 49 despite missing the last three games. Coach Spencer Danielson said Teubner is back practicing this week, but it will be “close” if he plays Friday night.

The Rebels have won four straight since that loss to the Broncos and closed out the season with a 38-14 win over Nevada. The early season NIL drama surrounding QB Matthew Sluka seems like ages ago as Hajj-Malik Williams has taken over the QB position with aplomb. Williams is 132-of-206 passing for 17 TDs and four interceptions. He’s also second on the team in rushing with 130 carries for 769 yards and leads the Rebels with nine touchdowns.

Ricky White is once again the star of the passing game with 75 catches for 1,020 yards and 11 scores. It’s White’s second straight season over 1,000 yards.

The UNLV defense is also as well-equipped as any to slow down Jeanty. He rushed for 128 yards in that victory as the Broncos rushed for 185 yards as a team. Since then, UNLV hasn’t allowed more than 107 yards rushing in a single game and has given up just one TD on the ground.

Time: Noon | TV: ABC | Line: Arizona State -2.5 | Total: 49.5

Given the chaotic and even nature of the Big 12 this season, it feels like no outcome would be a surprise in this game.

We’ll start with Iowa State, a team that has found its groove on offense as the season has progressed. The Cyclones scored at least 29 points in seven of their nine Big 12 games as wide receivers Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel have shined. They’re the only duo in college football to each have at least 1,000 receiving yards. Higgins has 80 grabs for 1,068 yards while Noel has 67 catches for 1,013 yards. They’ve combined to catch 15 TD passes. Every other player on the Iowa State roster has combined for five.

The Cyclones have one of the best pass defenses in the country. Opposing QBs complete just 52% of their passes for 157 yards and have thrown 12 TDs all season. But for as good as Iowa State is against the pass, the run defense can be leaky. And that may be bad news given who Arizona State’s bell cow is.

Cam Skattebo has 247 carries for 1,398 yards and 17 scores over 11 games while also serving as a reliable outlet in the pass game with 35 catches for 468 yards. Iowa State has allowed opposing teams to rush for over 200 yards four times this season and allows five yards a carry. Skattebo could be in line for a big day.

The Sun Devils will dearly miss WR Jordyn Tyson, who recently had surgery for an undisclosed injury and is out for the season. Tyson is QB Sam Leavitt’s go-to receiver with 75 catches for 1,101 yards. No other wide receiver on the ASU roster has more than 17 catches and Skattebo will enter the game as the leading pass-catcher among healthy ASU players.

Time: 4 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: Texas -3 | Total: 49.5

Will Kirby Smart be able to say his team is being doubted once again?

After Georgia’s 30-15 win at Texas earlier in the season, Smart said in his postgame TV interview that “nobody gave us a chance” ahead of this game. Georgia was a 3.5-point underdog in that game and will be a similar underdog barring some very late line movement ahead of kickoff.

The Bulldogs used a dominating performance from their defensive front to overwhelm Texas’ offense in that win. And Texas’ offensive line could be thinner on Saturday. Star left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is listed as questionable after leaving the Longhorns’ Week 14 game against Texas A&M with an injury. Trevor Goosby replaced Banks admirably against the Aggies, but Georgia’s defensive line could be the best in the SEC.

Georgia’s offense also squandered some opportunities in that game and that’s been a familiar theme for the Bulldogs all season long. QB Carson Beck has had more responsibility this season, but his supporting cast isn’t as good as it was a season ago. Georgia hasn’t been able to adequately replace Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey and it has showed. RB Trevor Etienne is listed as questionable for Saturday. He hasn’t seen the field since the loss to Ole Miss.

A win over Georgia would be a statement for a Texas team that doesn’t have a signature win this season thanks to the disappointing seasons for both Michigan and Oklahoma. The Longhorns probably need to rediscover the deep passing game sooner rather than later to be a legitimate title contender, though the red-zone wrinkle with Arch Manning against the Aggies surely gave Georgia something to look at on film.

Remember, Georgia’s defense was so dominant in the first half of its win over the Longhorns in October that Quinn Ewers was briefly benched in favor of Manning in the second quarter. We don’t anticipate coach Steve Sarkisian making a similar move on Saturday even if Georgia is wreaking havoc in its home state.

A loss for the Bulldogs would also be their third of the season, but it’s very hard to see Georgia dropping out of the 12-team playoff field given their current ranking.

Time: 8 p.m. | TV: CBS | Line: Oregon -3.5 | Total: 49.5

Is the Big Ten title game a play-in for the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff?

The Ducks enter as the only undefeated team at the top level of college football while Penn State took advantage of Ohio State’s loss to Michigan to sneak into the title game and move up a spot in the CFP rankings. Even if Texas beats Georgia, it’s possible the Nittany Lions could jump into the No. 1 spot with a win.

Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel isn’t a serious Heisman contender any longer but he leads a ruthlessly efficient offense that averages 6.6 yards per play. Gabriel is completing over 73% of his passes and has thrown for 3.275 yards while RB Jordan James has 1,166 yards and 13 rushing TDs. Leading receiver Tez Johnson returned from a shoulder injury he suffered against Michigan in Week 14 and had three catches for 36 yards and a score. Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart emerged as Oregon’s go-to target in Johnson’s absence, and they form one of the better WR duos in college football.

Penn State’s offense actually averages more yards per play than the Ducks do at 6.8, but it’s hard not to see Saturday night’s game as a referendum on Drew Allar and the offensive changes James Franklin made in the offseason. The offense’s struggles in big games a season ago are well-known, and Penn State failed to score an offensive TD in its 20-13 loss to Ohio State on Nov. 2.

A big passing day against the Oregon defense will be well-earned. The Ducks have one of the stingiest pass defenses in the country and allow 5.8 yards a throw. Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki was brought in to help Penn State win these kinds of games. Can he help deliver Franklin’s fourth win against a top-10 team and the first Big Ten title for the Nittany Lions since 2016?

Time: 8 p.m. | TV: ABC | Line: SMU -2.5 | Total: 55.5

The ACC title game could have the most at stake. An SMU win likely gives the conference just one team in the College Football Playoff. A Clemson win could mean two berths for the conference, but only if the playoff committee keeps an 11-2 SMU team ahead of a 9-3 Alabama team that jumped Miami (10-2) on Tuesday in the next-to-last set of rankings.

The Mustangs went 8-0 in their first year in the ACC and are averaging over 39 points per game. Their only loss of the season came to a BYU team that won its first nine games of the season. It’s possible to both point out that SMU has been very, very good this season and also note that they didn’t face Clemson, Miami, Georgia Tech or Syracuse during the regular season while still beating a 9-3 Duke team despite six turnovers.

Kevin Jennings took over for Preston Stone at QB early in the season and is completing two-thirds of his passes for 2,746 yards and 19 TDs. RB Brashard Smith has rushed for 1,157 yards and averages six yards a carry and at least five players have over 300 yards receiving.

Clemson has been tough to figure out. The Tigers got mauled by Georgia in Week 1 before the offense became unstoppable over the next six games. Clemson then came to a grinding halt against Louisville before eking out a win at Pitt and then losing to South Carolina to end the season.

Antonio Williams has become Cade Klubnik’s go-to receiver while Bryant Wesco is the big-play threat at nearly 18 yards a catch. The Mustangs have given up just 504 total passing yards in their last three games since allowing Pitt to throw for 350. Clemson will need to find some chunk plays through the air.