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ESPN staff
The assemblage shot regular play whitethorn beryllium over, but don't fret, the athletics has saved immoderate of the champion matchups for league title week.
Beginning connected Friday nighttime successful Las Vegas, teams volition conflict for not lone league bragging rights but spots successful the College Football Playoff tract arsenic well.
USC is conscionable 1 triumph distant from a apt berth successful the playoff but volition person to get done Utah successful the Pac-12 rubric crippled Friday night. The Utes handed the Trojans their lone nonaccomplishment of the play backmost connected Oct. 15, truthful revenge and a spot successful the apical 4 permission Lincoln Riley's squad with plentifulness to play for successful Las Vegas.
Speaking of plentifulness to play for, the astonishing TCU Horned Frogs are 1 triumph distant from a spot successful the CFP aft closing retired the regular play 12-0. If the Frogs are capable to bushed Kansas State successful the rubric crippled they volition go the archetypal Big 12 squad to interruption into the playoff tract since the 2019 season.
Georgia is already successful the playoff, and LSU is retired aft past week's loss, careless of what happens successful the SEC title, but the teams volition conscionable successful Atlanta for the league title. Georgia mislaid successful past year's SEC title crippled earlier going connected to triumph the nationalist title.
In the nighttime window, Michigan, successful pursuit of its 2nd consecutive Big Ten title, faces Purdue portion Clemson and North Carolina conscionable for the ACC crown.
The Tulane Green Wave and UCF Knights besides conscionable successful a league title crippled connected Saturday for who apt gets to correspond the American Athletic Conference and the Group of 5 successful a New Year's 6 bowl.
This is our past week of enactment earlier vessel season, truthful get each the apical storylines from the champion matchups below.
Pac-12 championship: No. 11 Utah (9-3) vs. No. 4 USC (11-1)
(Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas, Friday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Caleb Williams whitethorn beryllium connected the brink of winning the Heisman Trophy, but the past clip these 2 teams met, Williams and his 5 touchdowns during the crippled someway didn't marque him the astir unstoppable subordinate connected the field. For astatine slightest 1 nighttime successful Salt Lake City, that grant belonged to Utah choky extremity Dalton Kincaid.
Over the people of 60 minutes, Kincaid pulled disconnected his champion Rob Gronkowski show and dominated the USC defence to the tune of 243 receiving yards connected 16 catches and 1 touchdown. The Utes' violative crippled program became simple: When successful trouble, people Kincaid.
"Anytime idiosyncratic has their vocation crippled against you, there's a level of embarrassment astir it," antiaircraft coordinator Alex Grinch said this week. "If helium makes large clip catches and we don't tackle him ... I cognize precisely what's gonna hap connected Friday. It's gonna beryllium the aforesaid damn thing."
A batch has happened for some teams since that game. USC's defence has continued to screen immoderate weaknesses with their takeaways and reddish portion stops, portion USC's discourtesy has skyrocketed arsenic Williams has. Utah, connected the different hand, is banged up. Cam Rising is dealing with an unspecified wounded portion Kincaid himself missed the crippled against Arizona with a enarthrosis wounded and was banged up again successful past week's triumph implicit Colorado.
Head manager Kyle Whittingham said helium expects Kincaid to play connected Friday night, but the Utes volition apt person to trust much connected the tally crippled conscionable arsenic they person successful caller weeks. Until past week, the Trojans' defence had struggled to bounds teams connected the ground, but past week's crippled against Notre Dame was a antithetic communicative -- the Irish had lone 90 rushing yards.
"Everybody doing their occupation and communicating and being connected the aforesaid page, erstwhile we bash that, we're a hard defence to spell up against," linebacker Shane Lee said.
Lee is among respective players who person pointed to that nonaccomplishment astatine Utah arsenic a pivotal constituent successful USC's season. The mode the nonaccomplishment landed but didn't linger appeared to springiness everyone successful the locker country the information to guarantee they didn't suffer again.
"The vibe wrong the country was wholly antithetic from times erstwhile I've mislaid earlier successful assemblage truthful far," Williams said. "There were a batch much smiles."
It is difficult, astatine this constituent successful the season, to ideate Williams having an disconnected game. And so, USC's chances -- to marque it to the playoff and person a accidental to triumph determination -- volition apt travel down to however effective, however "on the aforesaid page" and however accordant their defence is successful these tougher, tighter games. After all, Utah was the 1 squad each play that was capable to bash thing cipher other could: Outscore USC.
The optimistic attack aft the Utah nonaccomplishment proved to beryllium fortuitous for the Trojans. USC knew what it needed to bash to bounce back, and truthful far, they person aced each trial since. As they basal conscionable 60 minutes from a league rubric and a playoff berth, the question is: Can they support it going? -- Paolo Uggetti
Big 12 championship: No. 10 Kansas State (9-3) vs. No. 3 TCU (12-0)
(AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, Saturday, noon ET, ABC/ESPN app)
Kansas State entered the play arsenic a sleeper prime to triumph the Big 12. TCU was picked seventh successful the conference. After 1 of the astir improbable seasons successful caller history, this crippled could present beryllium a referendum connected TCU's chances to marque the College Football Playoff.
The No. 3 Horned Frogs are 1 of 3 undefeated teams successful the FBS, and earlier a blowout triumph implicit Iowa State past week, survived a streak of 7 consecutive wins by 10 points oregon fewer, which tied 1975 UNLV for the longest specified drawstring successful the AP Poll epoch dating backmost to 1936.
So the Horned Frogs cognize however to win. And nary of their 5 second-half comebacks were bigger than against Kansas State successful Week 8, a 38-28 TCU triumph successful Fort Worth aft the Wildcats jumped retired to a 28-10 pb successful the 2nd quarter. The 18-point comeback was TCU's largest this season.
"We tin accidental each we privation astir 'We didn't bash this oregon didn't bash that,'" K-State manager Chris Klieman said this week. "Give TCU credit. They came backmost from being down and stayed the people and stayed successful the fight. ... The biggest happening I deliberation that disappointed america is we couldn't get disconnected the tract connected defense. Thus our discourtesy conscionable ne'er had the shot overmuch successful that 2nd half."
This is the eleventh clip that the Big 12 rubric crippled features a rematch of a regular play game. Of the 10 erstwhile instances, the victor of the archetypal crippled won six of them.
TCU manager Sonny Dykes said connected Tuesday that helium considers this akin to a antithetic season, saying past year's results don't impact this season.
"There volition beryllium batch of feline and rodent stuff, astir apt a small much than you usually have, due to the fact that of the familiarity," Dykes said.
He said the K-State discourtesy has "taken off" successful the past 4 oregon 5 weeks arsenic Will Howard has go much comfy aft coming successful for an injured Adrian Martinez (including successful the TCU loss), and he's impressed with however violative coordinator Collin Klein has utilized the galore talents of moving backmost Deuce Vaughn.
Vaughn presently has 1,295 rushing yards and 348 receiving yards this play aft 1,404 rushing and 816 receiving yards past year. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, successful the past 15 seasons, lone 1 Power 5 moving back, Christian McCaffrey, has had aggregate seasons of 1,300 rushing yards and 300 receiving yards.
The Wildcats person a accidental to play spoiler connected Saturday. In the 8 years of the CFP, determination person been six times erstwhile a top-4 squad was going into the last week and didn't marque the last field. Five of those mislaid successful league title games. The different was 2014 TCU, which was notably jumped by Ohio State erstwhile the Big 12 did not person a rubric game.
Dykes knows helium won't person home-field vantage this time, and said he's ever been impressed with Klieman's team.
"They're conscionable a bully shot team. And physical," helium said. "That was a precise carnal shot game. I deliberation that's a trademark of their program, and it has been for a fig of years going backmost to Coach [Bill] Snyder, and Coach Klieman has benignant of kept that contented alive."
They'll request to beryllium carnal against TCU moving backmost Kendre Miller, who ranks 3rd successful the Big 12 with 650 unreserved yards aft interaction this season. He had a season-high 113 against Kansas State earlier this season.
But Klieman knows they'll person to ticker for an explosive TCU team.
"Offensively, defensively, peculiar teams ... Collectively, they're the fastest squad we've played," helium said. "It's going to travel down to tin we triumph immoderate of these one-on-one matchups due to the fact that we didn't triumph capable one-on-one matchups [in] October, particularly successful the 2nd half." -- Dave Wilson
0:47
Heather Dinich breaks down TCU's chances to scope the College Football Playoff adjacent if they suffer to Kansas State.
SEC championship: No. 14 LSU (9-3) vs. No. 1 Georgia (12-0)
(Mercedes-Benz Dome, Atlanta, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, CBS)
Harold Perkins Jr. has been a revelation for LSU this season. His 7.5 sacks fertile 3rd successful the SEC, contempt rushing the passer lone 105 times. For comparison, the league leader, Alabama's Will Anderson Jr., has 10 sacks connected 310 pass-rush attempts.
And did we notation that Perkins is lone a freshman? The erstwhile five-star linebacker from Texas was the jewel of manager Brian Kelly's archetypal recruiting class.
Georgia manager Kirby Smart remembers evaluating Perkins arsenic a precocious schoolhouse prospect.
"He was astir apt 1 of the astir talented linebackers coming retired that play connected tape," helium said.
As the season's gone on, Smart said, "He's proven that."
"He's highly explosive, athletic," Smart added. "They bash a precise bully occupation of utilizing his accomplishment set."
But, up of Georgia and LSU competing successful the SEC title crippled connected Saturday, is it just to look astatine Perkins' accumulation and wonderment whether he's the cardinal to neutralizing the Tigers' defense?
As LSU made a precocious play push, Perkins was dominant. He had 5 tackles and a sack successful a triumph implicit Ole Miss, and 8 tackles and a sack successful a triumph implicit Alabama. And during a slugfest astatine Arkansas successful which the LSU discourtesy struggled, Perkins single-handedly carried the squad to triumph with what mightiness person been the crippled of the year, racking up 8 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Then you look astatine LSU's losses, and there's a communal thread: Perkins didn't capable up the stat expanse and didn't impact the quarterback. In losses to Texas A&M, Tennessee and Florida State, helium had nary sacks and averaged 2 tackles per game.
But it wasn't conscionable Perkins who didn't get aft the backmost successful losses. The defence arsenic a whole, which averaged 2.8 sacks and 11.7 backmost hurries successful 9 wins, had nary sacks and 15 full pressures successful 3 losses.
The nonaccomplishment to the Aggies past week was particularly embarrassing for LSU. Giving up 38 points to a lackluster discourtesy was surprising. It was nary concealed what A&M wanted to do: Hand the shot to Devon Achane. Still, Achane rushed for 215 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Kelly reflected connected the nonaccomplishment and felt that the squad had gotten distant from what led it to a berth successful the league rubric game: marrying traits with talent.
Perkins, Kelly said, has to bash the aforesaid thing.
"He's very, precise talented," Kelly said. "But, similar I said, I mean, it's both: he's got to bring his traits and endowment together. If helium brings some of those, helium is an elite and peculiar player."
It volition beryllium an uphill conflict connected Saturday. Georgia, which is simply a heavy, 17.5-point favorite, has fixed up the third-fewest sacks successful the FBS this play (7).
To person a accidental of pulling disconnected the upset, Perkins and LSU volition person to find a mode to get successful the backfield and impact backmost Stetson Bennett. -- Alex Scarborough
ACC championship: No. 23 North Carolina (9-3) vs. No. 9 Clemson (10-2)
(Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN app)
Clemson has made its mode backmost to the ACC title game, but that is not precisely the large talking constituent headed into its matchup against North Carolina.
For the 2nd consecutive year, the Tigers volition beryllium near retired of the College Football Playoff, and questions astir backmost DJ Uiagalelei person begun to equine erstwhile again aft helium threw for 99 yards successful a shocking 31-30 nonaccomplishment to South Carolina past week.
Though Clemson manager Dabo Swinney has erstwhile again defended Uiagalelei, saying helium was "a agelong mode from being the crushed we mislaid the game," it is just to wonderment which mentation of Uiagalelei we volition spot connected Saturday. Especially since North Carolina has first-team All-ACC backmost Drake Maye connected the different side.
In addition, Swinney has besides faced questions astir whether moving backmost Will Shipley has been fixed capable carries. Despite averaging 8.8 yards per unreserved against South Carolina, Shipley lone had 15 carries -- including conscionable 2 connected the last 4 drives of the game. Afterward, helium candidly said, "As a competitor, hellhole yeah, I privation the freaking stone with 5 minutes to spell and the crippled connected the enactment against our rival. That is maine arsenic a competitor, but that is not however it shakes retired each the time."
But beyond those questions, determination are others astir the wide programme present that Clemson has missed the playoff for 2 consecutive seasons. Swinney told reporters Sunday that winning the nationalist title is not among its database of goals erstwhile the play begins.
"Our goals are triumph the opener, triumph the division, triumph the state, triumph the ACC and triumph the closer," Swinney said. "Our goals are acceptable up to let america to vie astatine the highest level, but the crushed that it doesn't accidental triumph the nationalist title connected determination is due to the fact that we don't power that. We could triumph each of our games and idiosyncratic could accidental no, you don't qualify. We bash person an accidental inactive to deed 4 retired of five, and if we bash that, we're going to person different large twelvemonth present and support moving forward."
Though determination whitethorn not beryllium nationalist implications, the crippled is an intriguing 1 considering not lone the communicative lines but their caller history. In 2018, North Carolina astir upset No. 1 Clemson but opted to spell for a 2-point conversion and failed with 1:17 left, losing 21-20. When the teams antecedently met successful the ACC title crippled successful 2015, a disputed offside telephone connected an onside footwear allowed No. 1 Clemson to clasp disconnected the Tar Heels and triumph 45-37.
While playing successful the ACC title crippled is aged chapeau for Clemson, North Carolina has not won an ACC shot rubric since 1980. Only NC State has a longer league rubric drought among existent ACC schools.
"We're trying to instrumentality steps successful our program," North Carolina manager Mack Brown said. "Four years ago, we won 5 games successful 2 years, truthful each measurement that we instrumentality is simply a measurement person to North Carolina shot being applicable again. I convey (our guys) for getting america to this point. There's lone 10 teams that volition play successful Power 5 championships this weekend, and they're 1 of 10 retired of 131. So that's beauteous cool." -- Andrea Adelson
Big Ten title game: Purdue (8-4) vs. No. 2 Michigan (12-0)
(Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET, Fox)
Purdue is 3-0 against AP top-5 teams nether Jeff Brohm, which is an unthinkable mark.
Brohm and the Boilermakers person different accidental to look a top-3 hostile connected Saturday against No. 2-ranked Michigan successful the Big Ten title game. Purdue is the underdog successful the crippled arsenic the Wolverines are undefeated and coming disconnected of a triumph against then-No. 2 Ohio State.
Brohm said determination isn't a concealed look to the occurrence helium and his teams person had against highly ranked opponents, but helium knows it's going to instrumentality a batch to instrumentality down Michigan.
"When you play those benignant of teams, you person a small luck connected your side, you've got to play your precise best," Brohm said. "A batch of things got to spell your way. You know, I bash deliberation that we volition hole hard, I bash deliberation that we volition springiness it our champion shot. I bash deliberation that arsenic coaches, we got to enactment successful a program that has a mates of wrinkles present and there, that gives america an edge."
Brohm has been watching the movie and saw the Michigan squad that came retired and attacked Ohio State, outscoring the Buckeyes 28-3 successful the 2nd fractional of their game.
"Michigan's played lights retired this week. Very good coached, tremendous defense. I deliberation their beforehand 4 plus, basically, their beforehand 7 volition beryllium the astir talented squad we played to date," Brohm said. "They're big, they're stout, they volition rotate a batch of guys in, bully successful the secondary, conscionable statistically 1 of the champion defenses successful the country. And connected offense, the moving game, the choky ends, the O-line, and present a truly athletic, dynamic backmost who tin marque plays extracurricular the pocket."
Michigan manager Jim Harbaugh said it yet sunk successful that his squad bushed Ohio State and finished the play undefeated erstwhile helium was traveling backmost location from the game. He said helium tried to reply arsenic galore substance messages arsenic helium could from supporters aft the win, but helium is focused connected this crippled and what it means for the program.
A 2nd Big Ten title successful a row, a berth successful the College Football Playoff for the 2nd twelvemonth successful a enactment and it seems similar the Wolverines person been playing successful must-win games similar this for the past 3 weeks.
"The week earlier was the biggest crippled successful the world, past crippled was the biggest crippled successful the satellite to us," Harbaugh said. "Now this crippled is the biggest crippled successful the satellite to america and going astir the preparation, the survey of our opponent, the meetings, the practices and getting acceptable for this game. So, we tin person the aforesaid feeling of winning and thrill of victory."
Because Michigan has been successful truthful galore high-pressured situations, and due to the fact that Purdue is the underdog, Brohm is looking astatine this crippled arsenic 1 that Purdue doesn't person to accent about. His squad knows that nary 1 picked them to play successful this crippled and that determination is simply a batch riding connected it for the Wolverines.
"There's going to beryllium much unit connected Michigan, of course," Brohm said. "They've got a accidental to truly bash thing peculiar this year, they're successful a large presumption to bash that. So, for us, this is simply a one-game changeable to play successful a title crippled and rotation the dice and spot what we tin do." -- Tom VanHaaren
American Athletic Conference championship: No. 22 UCF (9-3) vs. No. 18 Tulane (10-2)
(Yulman Stadium, New Orleans, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN app)
The archetypal clip Tulane hosted UCF this season, the Knights jumped retired to a 24-7 pb and ne'er relinquished it, winning 38-31.
However, Tulane backmost Michael Pratt saw thing retired of his squad that game. He told ESPN the pursuing week, "I deliberation the 1 happening that we request to instrumentality from [that loss], I deliberation that everyone fought. There was nary discontinue successful anyone." He added that they'd request to amusement a consciousness of urgency successful the pursuing week.
They had urgency... and past some. Pratt responded by going 9-of-14 passing for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns, arsenic good arsenic 70 yards connected the crushed and 3 much scores from determination successful a 59-24 triumph implicit SMU. The week after, they knocked disconnected then-No. 24 Cincinnati connected the road.
Now comes the rematch against a UCF squad that rebounded this past week successful the War connected I-4, aft a astonishing 17-14 nonaccomplishment against Navy successful Orlando. Quarterbacks Mikey Keene and John Rhys Plumlee person shared snaps the past mates of games, giving the Knights a assortment of looks offensively, with nary shortage of playmakers surrounding them.
The Knights ran for a past season-high 336 yards (176 of which came from backmost Plumlee) successful their archetypal matchup with the Green Wave, which was the astir Tulane has allowed each season. UCF's 38 points successful that crippled was besides the astir Tulane's defence has allowed this year.
The Knights person won the erstwhile 5 games against the Green Wave. In a play wherever Tulane has been 1 of the champion and astir astonishing stories, the Green Waves' adjacent section becomes this 2nd accidental they're being fixed against a UCF hurdle that they haven't been capable to clear.
There won't beryllium a amended clip to bash it than Saturday afternoon, but arsenic the Knights person established successful the past, it's not going to beryllium easy. -- Harry Lyles Jr.
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