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2021 Top Games of the Week: Championship Week

Well folks, we made it. It’s the end of the season. Boy, there’s obviously plenty to discuss just with all of the coaching changes, but that’ll have to be its own post just like the conference realignment news. For now, let’s relish in the glory of championship week.

The Top Ten Games of the Week

10. Kent State 7-5 (6-2) vs Northern Illinois 8-4 (6-2) (Detroit, MI)

Congratulations to both Kent State and Northern Illinois. The Golden Flashes have only played in Detroit once, back in 2012. Kent has never won the MAC Championship Game before, their last league title was all the way back in 1972. The Huskies are more familiar with Ford Field. NIU’s last trip was back in 2018, which netted them their fourth conference title in a decade.

9. Western Kentucky 8-4 (7-1) at UTSA 11-1 (7-1)

Both teams took an interesting path to get here. Western Kentucky looked dead in the water, starting the year 1-4, but the Hilltoppers roared back to win the East. Meanwhile, UTSA nearly stormed through the entire 2021 season undefeated. The completely unheralded Roadrunners lost to North Texas at the end of the season to stumble over the final hurdle. Texas-San Antonio is playing in their first ever C-USA Championship Game. WKU has only played twice before, winning back to back conference titles in 2015-16.

8. Appalachian State 10-2 (7-1) at #24 Louisiana 11-1 (8-0)

The Sun Belt nearly lived up to the billing this year. Appalachian State tore the East Division back from Coastal Carolina, giving the Mountaineers their 3rd title in 4 seasons. Louisiana has won the West Division in all 4 years since the Sun Belt went to a championship game format. App State is currently undefeated against the Cajuns in that title game.

7. Utah State 9-3 (6-2) at San Diego State 11-1 (7-1)

Utah State makes their second ever appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game. The Aggies last represented the Mountain Division back in 2013, the first ever year of the division split. USU managed to navigate a competitive division this year, getting by with a solid offense and timely defense. San Diego State managed to nearly go undefeated despite having no offense to speak of, the Aztecs rely on a great defense and one of the best punters there has ever been on a college field. Seriously. SDSU is in the MW Championship for the first time since 2016, the second year of their back to back league titles.

6. #15 Pittsburgh 10-2 (7-1) vs #16 Wake Forest 10-2 (7-1) (Charlotte, NC)

The ACC’s usual powers are all asleep at the wheel, giving both Pittsburgh and Wake Forest golden opportunities to gain a plumb spot in a New Year’s Bowl. Both the Panthers and the Demon Deacons have only played in one ACC Championship Game before this week. Pitt’s trip was a failed attempt against Clemson in 2018, but Wake actually managed to win the conference title in 2006 over Georgia Tech.

5. #10 Oregon 10-2 (7-2) vs #17 Utah 9-3 (8-1) (Las Vegas, NV)

This should be interesting. At different points both teams have looked like the PAC-12′s best squad. Oregon had the road win of the decade by putting away Ohio State in Columbus. The Ducks mostly looked solid but their head scratching loss against Stanford dented their otherwise sterling Playoff resume. Meanwhile, Utah started off horrifically, dropping two crucial road dates at BYU and SDSU. The Utes then quietly put together a great conference season, putting away nearly every team. Then two weeks ago Utah absolutely mauled Oregon 38-7 in Salt Lake City. Has the ground shifted that much? Can Utah put away a team like the Ducks a second time? Oregon is 4-0 in the PAC-12 Championship Game all-time, the Utes are 0-2. The Rose Bowl is on the line this year.

4. #21 Houston 11-1 (12-0) at #4 Cincinnati 12-0 (8-0)

Here it is, Cincinnati is going for the Playoff. If the Bearcats can win out, they should logically keep the #4 spot if they can clear this last hurdle. I’m not sure it’ll come down to that necessarily, but hey, Cincinnati certainly has to win to get the spot. Can they? UC has had enough to beat everybody else they’ve played. They’re up there with Georgia as the only other undefeated team. Houston has had a wonderful year that went completely under the radar because they started the year stumbling out of the gate with an inexplicable loss to Texas Tech. Oh well, the Cougars have played immaculately since then. I doubt they’ll be able to press their case for the Playoff if they beat Cincinnati, but they should definitely get the NY6 bowl. The Bearcats are the defending champions, they are 1-1 in the previous two AAC Championship Games. Houston is 1-0, having won the first ever championship game in 2015.

3. #2 Michigan 11-1 (8-1) vs #13 Iowa 10-2 (7-2) (Indianapolis, IN)

Ok Michigan, here it is. If you really want to supplant Ohio State, you need to put this one away early. Act like you’ve been here before. We’ve got another tough, no offense, manball abomination that mashed its way through the West in Iowa. The Hawkeyes make their first trip to the Championship Game since their perfect regular season ended in disaster in 2015. The Wolverines, of course, have never won the Big Ten East until this year. They never even won the Legends, but every dog has its day. If the Buckeyes were here and at full strength, they’d play the manball team just as tough with five times the offensive talent. What will Michigan do?

2. #9 Baylor 10-2 (7-2) vs #5 Oklahoma State 8-1 (11-1) (Arlington, TX)

I am so interested in this game. Oklahoma State stands on a knife edge. Their season hangs in the balance. I can almost feel the pressure. The Bears won’t be easy to beat a second time. If they win they might make the Playoff based on the outcome of the #1 game. After all these years, Oklahoma State is finally playing in their first ever Big 12 Championship Game. The Cowboys would have played several times between 2011 and 2016 when the game was dormant. Baylor likewise would have made a few Big 12 title games in that span, but they also broke through in 2019, falling to Oklahoma. Will they lose to Oklahoma State and fall just short once more?

1. #1 Georgia 12-0 (8-0) vs #3 Alabama 11-1 (7-1) (Atlanta, GA)

Obviously. Two of the top teams in the sport are seeking to once more alter the Playoff race. Georgia is probably in. Even if the Bulldogs lose I have a hard time believing they’ll be left out at 12-1 with arguably still the best body of work. The question is where Alabama places in the final rankings.

If Alabama loses, they’ll likely fall outside of the top 4, safely inviting both current #4 Cincinnati and current #5 Oklahoma State a spot in the Playoff. That would give us both the first ever G5 team to make the Playoff in the Bearcats, and a Playoff newcomer in Oklahoma State. Now both Cincinnati and OK State could lose and none of this will matter, but if they do it’ll put a lot of pressure on the SEC Championship Game.

If the Crimson Tide win, they’ll stay in the top 4, and the rankings would suggest that this will shoot down #5 Oklahoma State’s season, but I don’t think that’ll happen. I think #4 Cincinnati will be put out to #5 in the final rankings if Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Michigan all win their championship games. I think it’s the logical move the committee will take. If you want to see a revolution in the Playoff, 3 new teams in Michigan, Cincinnati, and Oklahoma State, and a one-time in Georgia, you want the Bulldogs to win.

But this is all subtext of course. Intrigue outside of the big show. The SEC Championship is once again the main event and things almost never get any bigger than this. Alabama are the defending champs in both Atlanta and the national title, and they got there by steamrolling Georgia back in 2020. But 2020′s Crimson Tide looked like one of the most talented teams ever, the 2021 team has looked a bit listless, a bit slow at times. Bama lost to Texas A&M, which is looking more inexplicable by the week, and have had a few scares. This Bulldog team certainly doesn’t look like last year’s either. UGA looks invincible. Instead of having a good offense and great defense as in previous seasons, the Dawgs have a great offense and one of the best defenses we’ve ever seen. They’ve only given up 83 points in a full regular season.

The titans of football battle it out once again. The SEC Championship remains the highest proving ground for football all year outside of the National Championship Game itself. Alabama are coming in as the rare underdog, as they try to hold off Georgia once more. The Dawgs have been snakebit many a time by Bama in Atlanta, let’s see if they have what it takes to reverse history.