Your Weekend CFB Picks for 12/5

Championship Week is here. This means crushed dreams, merciless taunting and violent thoughts will carry the weekend. It's almost sad how the season is nearing its endgame, but remember that we have an entire offseason to misconstrue rumors and make fun of each other's programs for arrests.

#5 Cincinnati @ #14 Pitt (Big East de facto championship game)

Red:

No one cares about Big East football. The reason they don’t have a championship game? Because no one would show up to watch it. Simply put I don’t care and neither do you.

Prediction: Bearcats beat Panthers in battle of the Big Least.

Iroquois:
I've been one of the Wannstache's biggest supporters this year, but I am not going to deny Cincy. For that matter, why is it automatically assumed TCU will remain ahead of Cincy? They both have beaten an equal amount of ranked teams, with Cincy getting the last shot at beating another. Further, for as much fun as the national media makes of the Big East, they are still an automatic BCS bid conference. I find it hard to believe that the computers won't find a way to get the automatic conference in there over the MWC.

Additionally, I think Cincy has the more impressive overall resume, having lost a Heisman-caliber QB without missing a beat.

Cincy over Wannstache.

Slate:
Iroquois brings up a good point that Cincy didn't skip a beat after losing Tony Pike to whatever nasty injury he had. Cincinnati, in several other years, would certainly deserve a national championship berth but won't get one with this year's overcrowded bunch at the top.

The problem is that they are playing Pitt, meaning they have the Wannstache on tap. A few years ago the Wannstache clipped West Virginia which turned the BCS on its head, and who is to say it won't happen again? The Big East is almost back to prominence... who could screw it up? This guy. Like Golem jumping off the rock and into the lava just to carry his precious just one more time, Dave Wannstedt could steal this game and wreck Cincinnati's pristine season and ruin the Big East's claim to being a legit conference again. If anyone could do that... win a game that they should not for the better of their conference... it is this guy.

Wannstache over Cincy (/slowly rubs his eyes and takes in the gravity of what hge just said)

#12 Georgia Tech - #25 Clemson (ACC Championship)

Red:

ACC football, somewhat more respectable in a hey whatever happened to that conference sense. Considering both of these teams lost to mid level SEC teams last week how can we even call this a Championship? Maybe a losership?

Prediction: C.J. Spiller has ten thousand all purpose yards, Georgia Tech wins by 3.

Iroquois:
Whose superior running game is more superiorer? That will determine the runner up game from SEC-ACC rivalry weekend. I don't think the Sons of Clem have the consistent QB play to distinguish themselves over the Ramblin' Wreck.

GT over Climpson.

Slate:
Two things of note about GT's triple option: 1.) It destroys most teams... 2.) Teams that have stopped it were so hopped on rage and penned up anger that when they finally hit the field they would have fully kicked a kitten in the mouth if it were needed to stop that offense (Miami and Georgia got eviscerated by the Jackets last year and this year beat them).

Clemson has not had a full year to digest their blown win in Hotlanta, but you know they will be PISSED OFF, after Josh Nesbitt resurrected his team from the grave to steal a win from Dabo and the Tigers. Will they channel their inner beast mode and stop the Ramblin' Wreck? I say yes.

Clemson over GT

#3 Texas - #22 Nebraska (Big XII championship)

Red:
As much as I would enjoy a great game between two powerhouse teams there is one problem. Only one powerhouse team has decided to show up. Nebraska might be able to hang around for the first quarter or maybe first half but aside from Ndamuka-longa-ding-dong Suh they simply don’t have the players to make this an interesting game. Prediction: Texas is playing its walk-ons early in the fourth quarter. (do you even bring walk-ons to the championship game?)

Iroquois:
I don't really have a lot to say about the game, but I would like to point out that Mike Judge of King of the Hill fame (and one of my favorite TV shows) played Nostradamus and called this title matchup two years ago, down to the point of Texas going to the Rose Bowl if they win. Yes, I realize they aren't going to the Rose Bowl proper but they are going to the Rose Bowl the stadium. Incidentally, Nebraska wins that game on Texas's quick kick gaffe.

I wish I could agree with Mr. Judge (and I so desperately want to), but I don't think Texas will let that happen. Too much is at stake. I will say this, though. Expect Bo Pelini to give Texas all they want defensively. Nebraska has a shot at the game if they can spring a few turnovers.

Texas over Nebrasky? (Damn it, Dale. These tickets are fake!)

Slate:
The Black Shirts are back, or so that what we are told, and that means Nebraska's defense is back to its head chopping ways. Just in time, too, as the Longhorns' wheelin' and dealin' offense rolls into Jerry Jones' Stadium/World Wonder/Pleasure Dome/Billion Dollar locale which is not up to current football standards. Personally, I think Mack Brown will keep Texas and their team's eyes on the prize and although it won't be a blowout, they will win and go to the NC game in Pasadena where we will hear for the next month nothing but: "The last time Texas came here Vince Young..."

Texas over Nebraska

#1 Florida - #2 Alabama (SEC championship game)

Red:

Benjamin Franklin once said the beer is proof that god loves us. Well, this game is proof that the football gods love us. I simply don’t know what is going to happen in this game, but I do know that the team that wins the line will win this game. That is why the loss of Carlos Dunlap is so staggering for the Gators. While the Gators might have some depth at his position they simply do not have an athlete like Carlos sitting on the two deep to plug in. If the Gators can stop the run then they win this game, if they don’t then it might be embarrassing for the boys of ole Florida.

Prediction: Gators by 3. Mount Cody has a heart attack after the gators run sweep after sweep with their speedy backs.

Iroquois:

This game is being dissected to death in the media. This game does seem to be more monumental than last year, especially given Tebow's pending departure from the ranks of college football. I feel Florida's peaking at exactly the right time with a couple of tune up games (FI/SU) before the big game and it seems like the offense is finally peaking. Expect this to be an epic battle to the bitter end, much like last year.

P.S. Bama fans, we won last year without Percy Harvin. You can't say that Bama will win because UF doesn't have Harvin this year. That's silly.

Florida over Alabama.

Slate:
Business time, people. No time for jokes or any of that noise, we're all business here.

Mark Ingram has a hip pointer and that limits power back like himself in terms of the contact that they can deliver/take. Carlos Dunlap showed that no matter how much of a competitor you may be, you can still be a raving moron... so he will sit in time out during the game.

The game will come down to two elements: Tebow vs. the Alabama defense/Greg McElroy versus himself. Tebow will need to remember not to run on EVERY PLAY WHERE THE POCKET COLLAPSES and he will do fine. The Gator run game is faster than any Alabama has all year. McElroy, on the other hand, will be fighting a tough secondary, and angry LB corps and a defensive line that plugs in any number of depth to replace Dunlap. Epic game, hopefully my team comes out alive.

Florida over 'Bama

P.S. Ditto on what Iroquois said. Seriously... Harvin was not the panacea for last year's game.