Posted: 2021-12-03 College football guru Bill Connelly takes a quick look at the games on tap this Saturday in the College Football Conference title games... SEC championship: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 3 Alabama (4 p.m., CBS) Title defenses usually fail. Nick Saban's Alabama has won six of the past 12 national titles but repeated as champion only once, in 2011-12. In the past 40 years, USC (2003-04) and Nebraska (1994-95) are the only other teams to pull it off. The U never did, nor did Bobby Bowden's Florida State Seminoles. The champ is as wobbly as can be, and this feels like the moment Kirby Smart and Georgia finally get the better of Smart's former Tuscaloosa boss. Saban boasts a 24-1 record against his former assistants. Big Ten championship: No. 2 Michigan vs. No. 13 Iowa (8 p.m., Fox) Big 12 championship: No. 5 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Baylor (noon, ABC) Different or not, with a Saturday win in Jerry World -- something trends seem to favor -- the Pokes will be well-positioned to make the final four. If Georgia beats Alabama as projected or either Iowa or Houston pulls an upset, OSU probably gets in. AAC championship: No. 21 Houston at No. 4 Cincinnati (4 p.m., ABC) While the CFP committee still has time to screw the Bearcats over even if they win, that appears less likely than it did a few weeks ago. Luke Fickell has the Cats on the doorstep, and at the moment, it appears he's going to remain in Cincinnati for a while longer despite the craziness of the coaching carousel. Everything's coming up Cincy, but Houston could make this final step awfully perilous. |
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