TI N ROS E E Conference Championship Weekend BOWL The Granddaddy Of Them All January 1, 2018 1pm PT
Games of the Week Ohio State vs Wisconsin Sat., Dec. 2, 5 pm PT, FOX In December 2014, Wisconsin and Ohio State met in Indianapolis for the Big Ten Conference Championship Game. It is a game that many Badger fans would like to forget as the Buckeyes rolled to a 59-0 victory on their way to the National Title. This year, however, the College Football Playoff odds are in Wisconsin s favor, as the Badgers are the last undefeated Power Five team in country. Ohio State, while they have two losses, would still have a small chance at making the playoff if they defeated the Badgers. Wisconsin has rode their stellar defense and strong running game to a 12-0 record, while the Buckeyes have had a bit of a rollercoaster season, built on the prolific arm of J.T. Barrett and one of the best defensive lines in the country. The key to this game will be if the Badgers can throw the ball against the Buckeyes secondary, but expect this one to come down to the wire. USC vs. Stanford Fri., Dec. 1, 5 pm PT, ESPN USC and Stanford met back in September at the Colesium. The Trojans came out victorious in that game after a strong showing in the second half, but USC had trouble stopping the Cardinal running back Bryce Love, who will likely be announced as a Heismanfinalist in the upcoming weeks. While the Trojan defense still has some holes, USC s offense has been on a roll over the last four games. USC is averaging more than 40 points a game over that stretch, led by quarterback Sam Darnold and running back Ronald Jones. Stanford has also found more consistent quarterback play since switching to sophomore signal-caller K.J. Costello, who has completed 63-percent of his passes and thrown for five touchdowns over the last three games. The Pac-12 South has never won a conference championship game, could this be the year? Georgia vs. Auburn Sat., Dec. 2, 1 pm PT, CBS Georgia and Auburn are also a rematch of teams that met during the regular season. In early November, the Tigers handled the Bulldogs to the tune of a 40-17 victory. In that first game, Auburn s running back Kerryon Johnson ran for 167 yards and scored on a 55-yard pass. For this week s matchup, Johnson is questionable after suffering a shoulder injury against Alabama last week. Georgia will have to avoid the mistakes they made in the first matchup, when they fumbled a punt that led to an Auburn touchdown and had seven penalties for 75 yards. The Bulldogs also struggled against the Auburn pass rush as quarterback Jacob Fromm was under constant pressure and was sacked four times. The team that can win the line of scrimmage in this matchup will have a strong chance to win the game. On November 11, Auburn won that matchup. On December 2, Georgia will be looking for revenge. Players of the Week: Week 13 Jordan Lasley, WR UCLA In a win over Cal, Lasley caught a career-high 12 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown. The victory made the Bruins bowl-eligible with a 6-6 record. Lasley became the first UCLA player to record back-to-back 200-yard receiving games and now has three games with double digit receptions, which is the most in Bruin history. Markell Jones, RB Purdue Jones ran for a career-high 217 yards on 31 carries as Purdue defeated rival Indiana, 31-24. With the win, the Boilermakers became bowl-eligible for the first time since 2012. Jones talled 159 yards in the second half on 22 carries and now leads Purdue with 480 yards on the ground this season.
In the Polls - Conference Championships Associated Press 2. Oklahoma 3. Wisconsin 4. Auburn 7. Miami 8. Ohio State 9. Penn State 10. TCU 11. USC 12. UCF 14. Stanford 15. Notre Dame 16. Memphis 17. LSU 18. Oklahoma State 19. Michigan State 20. Northwestern 21. Washington State 22. Virginia Tech 23. South Florida 24. Mississippi State 25. Fresno State USA TODAY 2. Oklahoma 3. Wisconsin 4. Auburn 7. Ohio State Miami 9. USC 10. Penn State 11. UCF 12. TCU 14. Memphis 15. Stanford 16. LSU 17. Notre Dame 18. Oklahoma State 19. Michigan State 20. Northwestern 21. Virginia Tech 22. Washington State 23. South Florida 24. Mississippi 25. San Diego State College Football Playoff 2. Auburn 3. Oklahoma 4. Wisconsin 7. Miami 8. Ohio State 9. Penn State 10. USC 11. TCU 12. Stanford 14. UCF 15. Notre Dame 16. Michigan State 17. LSU 18. Washington State 19. Oklahoma State 20. Memphis 21. Northwestern 22. Virginia Tech 23. Mississippi State 24. NC State 25. Fresno State Here we are: the penultimate rankings. There was a huge shakeup in the topfour this week as former No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Miami went down in week 13. That made room for Auburn and Wisconsin to slide into CFP positions. The rankings, however, won t hold for long as all four top-ranked teams are in action this week, along with No. 6 Georgia, No. 7 Miami and No. 8 Ohio State. With no major upsets in the Big Ten or Pac-12 in week 13, each conference held strong with five and four teams ranked, respectively. The Associated Press Poll is made up of a panel of 61 sports writers and broadcasters from around the country. The USA Today Poll is also known as the Coaches Poll and is selected by the Amway Board of Coaches, made up of 64 head coaches at Bowl Subdivision schools. All are members of the American Football Coaches Association. The College Football Playoff rankings are selected by a 13-person committee of current athletic directors, former college football coaches, a University President, a former NCAA executive, and a current media member. The committee will issue its first rankings Tuesday, October 31, with subsequent rankings taking place the next five weeks. Rose Bowl Game Projections These projections are from writers of national publications on who they predict will play in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game Presented by Northwestern Mutual. ESPN USA Today SI.com CBS Sports The Athletic Rose Bowletin
TV Schedule - Conf. Championships (All times below are listed in PT and subject to change) Friday, December 1st Pac-12: Stanford vs. USC, 5 pm, ESPN Saturday, December 2nd American Championship Game: Memphis at UCF, 9 am, ABC Conf. USA Championship Game: North Texas at Florida Atlantic, 9 am, ESPN2 MAC Championship Game: Akron vs. Toledo, 9 am, ESPN Louisiana Monroe at Florida State, 9 am, ACC Network Big 12 Championship Game: Oklahoma vs. TCU, 9:30 am, FOX SEC Championship Game: Auburn vs. Georgia, 1 pm, CBS SWAC Championship Game: Alcorn vs. Grambling, 1:30 pm, ESPNU Troy at Arkansas State, 4:30 pm, ESPN2 MWC Championship Game: Fresno State at Boise State, 4:45 pm, ESPN ACC Championship Game: Clemson vs. Miami, 5 pm, ABC Big Ten Championship Game: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin, 5 pm, FOX Saturday 6 am PT/9 am ET Miami vs. Clemson Charlotte, North Carolina Ticketmaster Public Sale Tickets are available online now or by calling Ticketmaster at 1-800-653-8000. The public sale gives fans the first opportunity to secure tickets for the Granddaddy of Them All, January 1, 2018. Visit http://bit.ly/2018-rbg-ticketmaster to get yours today! Rose Bowl Game Ticket Information PrimeSport Travel and Ticket Packages PrimeSport offers the ultimate Rose Bowl Game experience including individual game tickets and up to hotel, transportation, and hospitality so you can start the new year in style! PrimeSport is the Official Fan-to- Fan Ticket Exchange, Hospitality & Travel Provider of the Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual. Visit http://www.primesport.com/rosebowl/ home for more details.
Big Ten & Pac-12 Big Ten Week 14 Schedule Wisconsin vs. Ohio State Week 13 Results Iowa 56, Nebraska 14 Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 0 Ohio State 31, Michigan 20 Penn State 66, Maryland 3 Michigan State 40, Rutgers 7 Northwestern 42, Illinois 7 Purdue 31, Indiana 24 Final Big Ten Standings East Overall Conf Ohio State 10-2 8-1 Michigan State 9-3 7-2 Penn State 10-2 7-2 Michigan 8-4 5-4 Rutgers 4-8 3-6 Maryland 4-8 2-7 Indiana 5-7 2-7 West Overall Conf Wisconsin 12-0 9-0 Northwestern 9-3 7-2 Purdue 6-6 4-5 Iowa 7-5 4-5 Nebraska 4-8 3-6 Minnesota 5-7 2-7 IIllinois 2-10 0-9 College Football News Coaching Carousel Arizona State: Fired Todd Graham and Herm Edwards is expected to become Arizona State s next head coach, pending approval by the school s president, according to Sun Devil Source and Devils Digest. Florida: Hired Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen to the same position. Tennessee: The Volunteers were targeting NC State head coach Dave Doeren as of Thursday morning, but two sources have said that Doeren is staying in Raleigh. Oregon State: Washington offensive coordinator Jonathan Smith will be named head coach at Oregon State, according to The Oregonian s John Canzano and multiple reports. Smith is a former Oregon State quarterback and graduate assistant. He s spent the past four years at Washington. Pac-12 Week 14 Schedule Stanford vs. USC Week 13 Results UCLA 30, California 27 Stanford 38, Notre Dame 20 Washington 41, Washington State 14 Arizona State 42, Arizona 30 Oregon 69, Oregon State 10 Utah 34, Colorado 13 Final Pac-12 Standings North Overall Conf Stanford 9-3 7-2 Washington 10-2 7-2 Washington St. 9-3 6-3 Oregon 7-5 4-5 California 5-7 2-7 Oregon State 1-11 0-9 South Overall Conf USC 10-2 8-1 Arizona State 7-5 6-3 Arizona 7-5 5-4 UCLA 6-6 4-5 Utah 6-6 3-6 Colorado 5-7 2-7 Florida State: School officials have started doing background work on Oregon head coach Willie Taggart, in case Jimbo Fisher takes the Texas A&M job, according to USA Today s Dan Wolken. Oregon: The school has offered Willie Taggart a new contract worth a little more than $20 million over five years, according to Sports Illustrated s Andy Staples. Florida State is reportedly doing background work on Taggart, in case Jimbo Fisher leaves. Taggart s current salary is $2.9 million. Mississippi State: Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead is the new head coach at Mississippi State. Moorhead spent two years at Penn State and was previously the head coach at Fordham, where he went 38-13 in four seasons. Iowa State: The Cyclones have announced a new six-year contract for head coach Matt Campbell worth $22.5 million. It s essentially a one-year extension and a raise, as his previous deal was for six years and paid him $2.1 million this year and was heavy in incentives. Ole Miss: Interim head coach Matt Luke has been named the full-time head coach. Luke went 6-6 as the interim head coach this season after taking over for the fired Hugh Freeze and has spent 11 years on staff over three stints. He s also a former Ole Miss player.