The most exciting weekend of college football season is quickly approaching and Next Impulse Sports is bringing you everything you need to know about this year’s slate of conference championship games.
While we’ll have all your gameday highlights and recaps right here, college football fans should note that Gillette Clear Gel Deodorant will be hosting #ClearlyBetter championship viewing parties at local bars for the SEC, PAC 12, ACC, & BIG 10 in the cities below over the weekend. Gillette Clear Gel is the perfect deodorant for anyone who wants to stay cool and dry under pressure in high-intensity moments, and I’m sure this weekend is going to have plenty of those for players and fans alike.
Gillette Clear Gel will be offering a few lucky bar patrons the chance to be a VIP – granting fans one of the best views of the TV in the house as well as free appetizers throughout the game.
Charlotte
Date: Saturday, December 6th
ACC Championship Game Start Time: 8 PM
Bar Name: All-American Pub
Indianapolis
Date: Saturday, December 6th
Big 10 Championship Game Start Time: 8:17 PM
Bar name: Front Page Sports Bar
San Jose
Date: Friday, December 5th
Pac-12 Championship Game Start Time: 9:00pm
Bar Name: San Jose Bar & Grill
Atlanta
Date: Saturday, December 6th
SEC Championship Game Start Time: 4pm
Bar Name: Der Biergarten
*Note: All times are in ET
For those looking for a preview and breakdown of each of these big games, we’ve got you covered.
ACC Championship: Florida State vs. Georgia Tech
The big talking points heading into this game will undoubtedly surround reigning-Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and the 28-game win streak the Seminoles have put together, but that doesn’t mean you should count out Georgia Tech.
The Yellow Jackets are coming off of two consecutive ranked wins against Clemson and Georgia, respectively, which helped them secure a spot in the ACC title game against Jameis & the ‘Noles.
Despite their unblemished record, FSU has looked beatable this season – even against unranked opponents. Winston’s 21/17 touchdown-to-interception ratio this season is an alarming dropoff from his 40/10 mark last year and his lack of ball security has allowed teams to stay in ballgames this year. Despite his struggles, the Gillette #NoSweat factor for FSU will be Winston; he’s still unbeaten as a starter and he’ll need to rediscover some of that Heisman magic if the Seminoles want to take home a third straight ACC Championship.
The Yellow Jackets’ #NoSweat factor will be their diverse running game – ranked third in rushing across the nation this season. Florida State’s defensive unit has improved over the latter half of the season, but they’ll have their hands full this weekend. Georgia Tech’s elite rushing attack can allow them to control the pace of the game and keep the Seminoles’ offense off the field.
Big Ten Championship: Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
It would be borderline shocking if this game came down to anything outside of Cardale Jones versus Melvin Gordon. Jones, the Buckeyes redshirt sophomore big-bodied quarterback was relatively unknown outside of recruiting circles until his name was tossed around briefly in the starting QB competition with J.T. Barrett after Braxton Miller was lost for the entire season during training camp.
First, who is Jones?
He’s a 6’5″, 250-pound native of Cleveland, where he blossomed into a 3-star recruit and was the 12th ranked pro-style signal-caller in the nation as a senior at Cleveland Glenville. Before last Saturday’s win over Michigan, one in which he completed 2-of-3 passes for seven yards after Barrett’s ankle injury, he had thrown one single collegiate pass in 39 snaps of action in 2013 after taking a redshirt in 2012. Jones, the Buckeyes #NoSweat x-factor is thrust into duty in replacing a Heisman contender (Barrett) that was thrust into duty in replacing another Heisman contender (Miller).
Ohio State’s opponent, the Wisconsin Badgers enter the title game having only given up only 1245 yards on 411 rushing attempts this season, good enough for a paltry 3-yard average. Furthermore, Gary Andersen’s team is 2nd in the nation in pass defense, yielding only 157 yards per game. It is anyone’s guess what Urban Meyer and his staff is planning for Jones. Quite simply, good luck predicting the number of touches for running back Ezekiel Elliott or number of quick drops and safe dump-offs for Jones. All bets are off with a new quarterback in a season-defining conference title game.
The second half of the #NoSweat x-factor equation is a healthy Heisman contender in Melvin Gordon, the Badgers’ workhorse junior running back and potential first round selection in the 2015 NFL Draft that just eclipsed the Big Ten record for most rushing yards in a single season. Gordon’s talent is undeniable but will the game plan allow ample opportunities to rumble through an Ohio State defense that allows a full yard per carry more than Wisconsin’s stout unit?
Gordon is averaging a mind-numbing 8.0 yards per rush in 2014 and ranks fifth in the nation with 283 carries, 60 of which came in their last two hard-fought Big Ten games, both wins. As is the case with Jones, it still remains unclear how much Gary Andersen trusts quarterback Joel Stave to hurl the ball around the field to a group of unheralded receivers. It will be fascinating to see how much both Andersen and Meyer lean on their x-factors to carry their teams to victory.
If the Badgers emerge victorious, they will likely land in the Cotton, Fiesta, Orange Peach Bowl. A loss could send them to the Citrus or even Holiday Bowl, although that remains unlikely.
On the other side, a Buckeyes win, convincing or not, might be enough for the playoff committee to roll them into the top four but a loss would put them in one of the four aforementioned bowls that could see two Big Ten teams.
SEC Championship: Alabama vs. Missouri
Similarly to Auburn in the 2013 SEC title game, everyone is just assuming that Alabama will dispose of Missouri and gracefully retain their spot in the national championship discussion. Bama enters this year’s game as two touchdown favorites but is far from a lock.
As the Blake Sims chatter continues this week after his three interception Iron Bowl performance on Saturday, one of the better defensive lines in the country awaits in the Missouri Tigers unit. Mizzou continues to churn out legit defensive lineman and after losing Michael Sam, Sheldon Richardson and Kony Early over the last two years, Shane Ray and Markus Golden have become two of the best pass-rushers in the SEC. The two have combined for 20.5 sacks and although Alabama’s offensive line will be a stern test, they should have ample opportunities to pressure Sims into potentially destructive 3rd and long situations. Look for our #NoSweat x-factor Lane Kiffin to diverse his playcalling by including more middle screens for T.J. Yeldon and play-action in an attempt to alleviate pressure for the mistake-prone Sims.
On the other end, Mizzou’s Maty Mauk is licking his chops at the opportunity to attack a suddenly vulnerable Alabama defense, one that yielded a school record 630 yards and 44 points to Auburn last weekend. The sophomore quarterback saw a slight bump in his completion percentage from 2013 to 2014 but the inconsistencies in decision-making have been concerning, with 11 picks and countless overthrows of open receivers. Look for the Tigers to roll Mauk out of the pocket in order to neutralize the Crimson Tide’s advantageous front seven and shift the routes, namely receiver Bud Sasser, toward the opposite field, allowing the underrated running quarterback to pick up 5-plus yards on the early downs.
Although the fate of the Tigers upset hopes rest heavily on Mauk, his offensive line must open holes against a Bama defense that ranks third in the nation in yards allowed per rush with a minuscule 2.9. As a result, Mizzou’s #NoSweat x-factor is their five offensive lineman. Without running lanes and a 4-plus yard average for Russell Hansbrough and Marcus Murphy, there is little chance to do what they couldn’t do last year.
A win plus a whole bunch of help would give Gary Pinkel’s team a very outside chance of sliding into the College Football Playoff top four. A loss for Alabama would open up a very heated debate as to which team should occupy the No. 4 slot, a debate that would create serious tension in Big Ten and Big 12 circles.
Pac-12 Championship: Arizona vs. Oregon
The Oregon Ducks have been one of the nation’s most dominant teams this season and they’re looking to capture their second Pac-12 title in three years, but to do so they’ll have to go through the only team that was able to defeat them this season.
That’s right; Arizona currently has a two game win streak against the Ducks, including an upset victory back in October. The Wildcats – making their first Pac-12 Championship appearance – will look to build on that success and spoil Oregon’s potential playoff chances.
No surprise here: The #NoSweat x-factor for Oregon is their Heisman-candidate quarterback, Marcus Mariota. The junior signal-caller racked up 48 total touchdowns and more than 4,000 yards of offense this past season while only throwing two interceptions. He’s one of the most dominant players in college football and has the ability to single-handedly take over games, so Arizona will need to keep him in check if they hope to have any chance of taking home the W.
Fortunately for the Wildcats, they seem to have the blueprint to suppressing Mariota’s explosiveness. Back in October, Arizona managed to sack Mariota five times en route to a 31-24 victory over Oregon. They’ll need to apply similar pressure this time around in hopes of throwing Mariota off his game and not allowing him to get into a rhythm and control the pace of the game. As the #NoSweat x-factor for Arizona, the performance and success of the defensive front-seven is extremely vital to the Wildcats’ hopes in this game.
