My Thoughts on College Football

Next weekend will be the final real weekend of the college football season. Sure, after that we still will have the Heisman Trophy presentation, and Army-Navy, but that's all going to be basically after we know who is still alive to go to college football's playoffs. After a wild weekend in week 13 of the season, we know that Clemson, Alabama, Iowa, and Michigan State pretty much control their fate. We know that Notre Dame is dead. We know that Oklahoma has won their conference and now waits. We know that Ohio State is done, and waits. We know that Stanford remains alive, for now, and has to win next week.

If I was in charge of ranking these teams, I'd rank them:

1. Clemson- A well-earned undefeated regular season earns them this spot. If they do their job, and win this week against UNC, they are in.
2. Alabama- Since the Ole Miss loss, I think they've been the best team in the country. Beat Florida, win the SEC, and go to the playoffs.
3. Iowa- You can't argue with undefeated, even if you have trouble believing it. I'll be pulling for the Hawkeyes this weekend, but I'd be surprised. If they win, they deserve to be in.
4. Michigan State- You beat Ohio State and Michigan in conference, Oregon out of it, and you deserve this chance. With one loss, they can't lose to Iowa and get in, but I'd put them in right now and we'll see what happens.
5. Oklahoma- I'm not a believer. They lost to Texas. With that said, they won a power five conference with just one loss, and they torched Oklahoma State on the road last week. I'm not saying they get in when one team loses the Big Ten, i'm putting them here as a holding spot until we know a little more.
6. Ohio State- They have one loss, to Michigan State no less. They won the title last year, and beat Alabama on the road to it. They've lost three games in three years, won a title, beat just about everyone in that time, and are being penalized for playing Michigan State late. If Iowa wins, it's really hard to put them in, since they lost to Michigan State. If Michigan State wins, I'd consider jumping them over Oklahoma. I think they're a more threatening team.
7. Stanford- They have two losses, so i'm really not in favor of them getting in. If they win the PAC-12 though, and all hell breaks loose this week, they deserve to be in position to capitalize after beating Notre Dame and potentially USC to finish.
8. Notre Dame- Unfortunately, even two close losses eliminates them. They would need Clemson, Alabama, and Stanford to lose (as well as the inevitable loss by one of the Big Ten finalists) to have a shot. That's a mountain too high.
9. Florida State- They just dominated Florida, but they also are a little too far out. A fluke play against Georgia Tech did them in.
10. North Carolina- I'm not sure if I believe in them yet, they did lose to South Carolina. I do want to see how they do with Clemson.

So that's my rankings. This weekend though, we settle championships on the field. It's conference title weekend, and so I'm putting forward my picks for those games too-

• MAC- I'm taking Northern Illinois to surprise a very good Bowling Green team. They've been there before.
• AAC- I'm taking Temple to go on the road and surprise a Houston team that has been repeatedly silencing their doubters. 
• Conference USA- I'm taking Western Kentucky to get it done against Southern Mississippi.
• SEC- Florida will hang in better than expected, but I think Alabama wins a lower-scoring affair, and the conference.
• Mountain West- I'm taking San Diego State to get the job done in a thriller with Air Force.
• PAC-12- I'm calling the upset. USC stuns Stanford to win the conference title in a year their coach got fired.
• Big Ten- I think Michigan State gets the job done and ends Iowa's dream season.
• ACC- Clemson out shoots UNC to win the ACC in a thriller.

So, if that plays out, I have Clemson, Alabama, and Michigan State in. That would bring it down to Oklahoma and Ohio State for the last spot. My guess is that Oklahoma will get the spot. I'd probably vote for Ohio State. So that means, my "major" bowls would be-

• Cotton Bowl-Semi-Final- Alabama vs. Michigan State
• Orange Bowl-Semi-Final- Clemson vs. Oklahoma
• Rose Bowl- USC vs. Iowa
• Fiesta Bowl- Notre Dame vs. Ohio State
• Sugar Bowl- Baylor vs. Florida
• Peach Bowl- Florida State vs. Temple

That's just my picks. I also took some upsets at the conference title level.

I'm also taking Derrick Henry of Alabama to win the Heisman, by the way.