*College Football Podcast Week 15 brought to you by BangTheBook.com
With conference championship weekend on the horizon, hosts Adam Burke and Kyle Hunter of BangTheBook.com broke down every game of significance on the card this week on the College Football Podcast. With championship games for the Mid-American Conference, Pac-12 Conference, Conference USA, Southeastern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Mountain West Conference coming up this week, all seven of those games were discussed in detail, along with the Big 12 finale for Kansas State and Baylor.
The show began, as it has over the few weeks, with a discussion about the College Football Playoff rankings. There was a very interesting development as TCU jumped over Florida State. The Horned Frogs are now third with the Seminoles fourth after their close win over Florida and TCU’s impressive blowout win at Texas. A lot can still happen atop the rankings, but the guys gave their thoughts on the current list and what could happen after Saturday.
One of the most interesting parts of this time of year is the long list of coaching changes. Oftentimes, coordinators are hired from teams that are going to a bowl game because they have been successful and they get head coaching positions at schools that will not be going to a bowl game. There are a lot of layers to these changes. It affects how a team plans for their bowl game and, down the line, can also hurt recruiting. Adam and Kyle dug into that discussion with some examples to keep an eye on.
Moving into the games for this week, the MAC kicks off the conference championship games on Friday night in Detroit. Bowling Green rolled over Northern Illinois last season with a 47-27 final and the game is a rematch this season. Who has the upper hand in this game? The guys have a pretty strong lean to one side.
Also on Friday night, the Pac-12 will crown a champion in a rematch of Arizona and Oregon. The Ducks have one loss on the season and it is against Arizona. Since that loss, they have won seven straight and covered in all of them. They are more than a two-touchdown favorite for this week’s game. What should bettors be looking for and thinking about as they break down this one?
Saturday afternoon brings the Conference USA championship game as Marshall hosts Louisiana Tech. Marshall had their dreams of an undefeated season ruined by Western Kentucky in overtime last week. They can still secure the conference title, but Adam and Kyle wonder if motivation is on Louisiana Tech’s side given what happened to Marshall last week. Does it make the cut as a play that they would advocate? Click ‘Play’ to find out.
Alabama takes on Missouri as the Tigers head to Atlanta for the second consecutive season. The Crimson Tide fell short of the championship game last year due to the famous (or infamous) kick-six play against Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Alabama hung 55 points on Auburn in this year’s revenge spot. Can Missouri hang around in this game? Kyle has read into the context of this game to find something that bettors should be aware of.
Florida State takes on Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game in Charlotte with a line that is certainly interesting. The Seminoles are just a four-point favorite right now. What does that say about the Yellow Jackets’ upset chances? Adam points out something that bettors need to know about this game and the Florida State defense. This game breakdown had a lot of excellent thoughts from both guys and should be listened to closely.
The Big Ten Championship Game has a different feel now without JT Barrett. The Wisconsin Badgers are a four-point favorite in a game in which they probably would have been an underdog with Barrett in the fold. Was there too much of an overreaction in this line? What is the key to this game for Ohio State? How can Wisconsin take care of business? All of that and more was discussed on this week’s episode.
The Mountain West Championship Game features the biggest spread of all of the championship matchups with Boise State a three-touchdown favorite against Fresno State. Adam and Kyle both had leans that they liked for this game. To find out what they were, make sure to listen.
Kansas State and Baylor meet in Baylor’s last chance for style points with the College Football Playoff Committee. Baylor is currently sixth with a matchup against a highly-ranked Kansas State team. The status of Bryce Petty remains in doubt, so there’s no line on this game, but Adam and Kyle gave bettors an idea of what they can expect.
As always, the pick-six segment ended the show with a lot of American Athletic Conference action discussed.
