There are some unlikely teams playing in conference championship games this weekend but I think the least likely of them all has to be Duke. Now nobody is giving them much of a chance to beat the top ranked Florida Seminoles but you can not say that the Blue Devils didn’t earn this spot.
The Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns finish off the regular season at the South Alabama Jaguars on Saturday under the lights at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, in hopes of maintain their spot atop the Sun Belt conference.
The Memphis Tigers travel to Rentschler Field in East Hartford to play the Connecticut Huskies on Saturday, in a game that has no implications other than bragging rights.
The sixth-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys will host the 17th-ranked Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday in a pivotal Big 12 showdown. Both teams enter playing strong football, and the winner could be in for a heck of a bowl game.
The Week 15 AP top 25 college football rankings were released on Sunday. A new name atop the rankings for the first time this season as Alabama’s loss to Auburn allowed Florida State to move into the top spot.
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Alabama fell back to No. 4 with the loss, while Auburn moved up to No. 3, but failed to leapfrog undefeated Ohio State. The Seminoles received 58 of 60 first place votes, with the other two going to third-seeded Auburn, while No. 2 Ohio State did not receive a first place vote.
Michigan State climbed into the top 10 with their eighth consecutive win, with Clemson moving out, falling back to No. 13.
Not many games on the schedule for championship weekend, but many of the top teams will be in action, which could mean some movement in next week’s poll. Let’s take a look at the top 10 teams and their chances of moving up, or down on Sunday when the next set of rankings are released.
1. Florida State Seminoles (12-0, previous: 2)
Florida State overcame a shaky start in Gainesville to down the Gators, 37-7. In the game, quarterback Jameis Winston broke the team’s single-season passing touchdown record with a three-touchdown day to get to 35 on the year, breaking Chris Weinke’s record of 33 set in 2000. Under his leadership, the Seminoles have racked up the second most points on a per game basis in the FBS with 53.7, while the team also ranks first in the nation in scoring defense, surrendering only 11.0 points per game. The Seminoles are a tough matchup for any program, and should cruise through the ACC title game to the national title game. They get Duke on Saturday as 29-point favorites.
2. Ohio State Buckeyes (12-0, previous: 3)
The Buckeyes had more trouble with the Wolverines than they would have liked in their biggest rivalry game, but squeaked past Michigan late, 42-41. The team hasn’t gotten much respect nationally because of a weak non-conference schedule, but it will be hard to keep them out of the title game if they can get past Michigan State in the Big Ten title game on Saturday. The Buckeyes are installed as 5.5-point favorites in that contest.
3. Auburn Tigers (11-1, previous: 4)
Auburn certainly can’t claim to be short on luck this season. The team has been the benefactor of last minute wins in back-to-back weeks, most recently a win over top-seeded Alabama. They’ll face one more hurdle if they hope to get to the title game, as they have a date with No. 5 Missouri in the SEC championship game. The Tigers will be favored by 1.5 points in Georgia.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1, previous: 1)
Worse than the loss suffered in Saturday’s Iron Bowl is that the Tide don’t have any games left on their schedule. Falling to Auburn 34-28 was bad enough, but the loss also cost the team a shot at a three-peat. Alabama would need a whole lot of losses in front of them if they hope to get to the title game.
5. Missouri Tigers (11-1, previous: 5)
The Tigers took care of business against the Aggies on Saturday and now find themselves in a pretty favorable spot. With a win over Auburn as 1.5-point underdogs in the SEC championship game on Saturday, the team will have a very strong case to make the trip to Pasadena as a 12-1 SEC team with wins over ranked opponents littered throughout their schedule.
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6. Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1, previous: 7)
Oklahoma State was off but still moved up a spot in the latest poll because of Clemson’s loss. The team is well positioned for a BCS bowl berth but will first face a tough Oklahoma team as 10.5-point favorites.
7. Stanford Cardinal (10-2, previous: 8)
The Cardinal got past a good Fighting Irish team on the weekend and now face an even tougher test when they go to Tempe to face a streaking Arizona State team that will be without their top ball carrier, but just put up 58 points on Arizona without him. Stanford is installed as a 3.5-point underdog for the game.
8. South Carolina Gamecocks (10-2, previous: 10)
A couple losses earlier in the year knocked the Gamecocks out of the national title conversation, but they ended their year on a five-game winning streak, putting the exclamation point on their regular season with a beat down on instate rival Clemson, 31-17.
9. Baylor Bears (10-1, previous: 9)
Baylor had more trouble with TCU than they should have on Saturday, but they were able to hold off the Horned Frogs down the stretch. They’ll need a better effort all around on Saturday when they take on Texas as 13.5-point favorites.
10. Michigan State (11-1, previous: 11)
The Spartan defense held five of their final six opponents to six point or fewer as the team won eight games in a row down the stretch and all finished the regular season at 8-0 in Big Ten play, but they’ll face their toughest conference opponent yet in the Big Ten title game on Saturday, taking on the Buckeyes as 5.5-point underdogs.
You gotta love the NFL! Another scintillating weekend has passed and as per usual there is some significant movement in the Power Rankings. There is a new #1 along with some serious risers and fallers on the charts. Still, the AFC dominates the top spots with the top NFC teams appearing in second tier of this week’s Power Rankings.
The Annual Army vs. Navy showdown is one of the oldest traditions in college football. The two teams have played 112 times leading into this week’s matchup, and there’s no shortage of history in this battle. Navy leads the overall series 56-49-7, and they come into this weekend’s contest having won the last 10.
Week 15 in the NFL is in the books. The Weisguy takes over for Matt and offers up these recaps for your NFL viewing pleasure.
It’s Championship week for most of you – time to find some Waiver Wire Gold to put you over the top! There are some interesting names available in Fantasy leagues this week – none will be a catalyst for a Fantasy Title but they might just be solid enough to plug in and let your Studs do most of the work.
Each week, the CappersPicks.com fantasy football guru Dave B brings you players you need to be paying attention to – Remember – fantasy football championships are often won by those who live eat and breath fantasy football.
After all of the weekly games are finished be sure to check our waiver wire column, cheatsheets, a who’s hot, and who’s not report plus more in our fantasy football guide.
One of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season has been the emergence of the San Francisco 49ers under new head coach Jim Harbaugh. A
The Baltimore Ravens have been in a battle for the AFC North all season. Now, it will come down to three games and their ability to get the job done on the road.
With their win last week the Texans (10-3) wrapped up their first ever AFC South title, but all is not well with Houston since defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, who has helped turn the Texans’ defense into a great one, is on a temporary medical leave of absence.
The Titans (7-6) are coming off a tough loss last week, which really hurt their playoff hopes, but there is a good chance they will get back in the W column facing the winless Colts (13-0).
With the NFL Fantasy football into the fantasy playoffs now we encourage you to be checking out our FANTASY FOOTBALL WEEKLY ARTICLES for all your rankings and analysis for the upcoming week.
Each week, Dave B will compile a list of Hot and Not Hot players based on their past performances and future matchups.
