Championship Week is always going to be important to teams around the College Football landscape and there are some big games to be played in 2025.
This time there are a few teams who will be worrying that a defeat in the Championship Game would see them miss out on the Playoffs, while Seeding is still up for grabs.
Games will be played from Friday through Saturday before the College Football Playoff Bracket is released next week.
Kennesaw State Owls @ Jacksonville State Gamecocks: Neither of these teams are Ranked as far as the College Football Playoff goes so the winner is not going to be thinking about pushing their way into the top twelve positions at the end of Championship Week.
However, make no mistake about the importance of winning the Conference USA Championship for both and that is going to mean plenty of motivation and intensity on the field.
Both the Kennesaw State Owls (9-3) and Jacksonville State Gamecocks (8-4) finished with 7-1 records in the Conference, although it is the Gamecocks who get to host the Championship Game having beaten the Owls three weeks ago.
Despite that win, the Gamecocks have been set as home underdogs again, although the line has dipped below a key number 3 from the regular season meeting compared with this Championship Game.
Kennesaw State will certainly feel they were the better team when losing in this Stadium, but the four turnovers on the day proved costly and the stronger yardage produced could not make up for that.
The Owls bounced back as would have been expected from that setback, but the pressure will be on Quarter Back Amari Odom who threw 3 Interceptions without a single Touchdown pass in the loss to Jacksonville State. This is not going to be far from the mind when he steps back in this one, although even a slightly cleaner game from that Quarter Back position is going to give the Owls an edge.
As the season has wound down, the Gamecocks have just had a few more issues controlling the Line of Scrimmage on the Defensive side of the ball and that means an opportunity for Kennesaw State to keep the Quarter Back in third and manageable spots. This should also mean having a clean pocket from which to throw down the field, while not needing to force the ball so much against a Secondary that will give up some big passing numbers, but who have thrived on picking off some of those pass attempts.
Capitalising on mistakes will be the plan for the home team who have been much cleaner with their execution and who will not think a Punt is the same as a defeat. Instead there will be patience from the Gamecocks to keep playing the field battle if they have to, while Jacksonville State have to be hugely encouraged with the problems the Owls Defensive Line have been having when it comes to stopping the run.
This is something that Jacksonville State will feel they can exploit, especially as the Gamecocks were rushing at 6 yards per carry in the win over Kennesaw State in the regular season.
Caden Creel will then be asked to keep things simple in the passing game and the Jacksonville State Gamecocks will be confident in earning another upset.
It could be another back and forth affair in this Championship Game, but the narrow edge has to remain with the Kennesaw State Owls and that is largely by building on what they learned from the regular season defeat. You have to believe the turnover gap will not be nearly as large as it was in that loss, and Kennesaw State have been playing well enough to think that even halving the number will be enough to secure the road victory.
The key will be to take Jacksonville State out of their comfort zone and forcing them to get into obvious passing situations, although that won't be easy.
Instead it could be Amari Odom who can earn redemption with a cleaner game than the first time around against the Gamecocks and the Quarter Back can lead the Owls to a Championship.
Troy Trojans @ James Madison Dukes Pick: The Sun Belt Championship has to be the main aim for both of these teams, but the James Madison Dukes (11-1) potentially have more on the line when hosting the Championship Game.
They dominated the Conference with a perfect 8-0 record and the Dukes have been rewarded by being placed as the Number 25 team in the Rankings.
With that in mind, winning the Sun Belt Championship may yet see the James Madison Dukes earn a spot in the College Football Playoff, although they will need some results to go their way on Saturday. That does mean the team can focus on winning a Championship on Friday in front of the home fans, even if the likelihood is that Head Coach Bob Chesney is set to depart James Madison for the vacant role with the UCLA Bruins.
Bob Chesney has not been able to deny those reports with the expectation being that he will move on, but he has given a lot of credit to the school and the players who have represented him and the Head Coach will be desperate for a Championship.
His team are hosting the Troy Trojans (8-4) who finished 6-2 in the Conference and winning the West Division.
The two teams had very different experiences facing the Old Dominion Monarchs, but that won't count for anything in this one-off game.
The Trojans are not going to make the College Football Playoff even with a win, but a Conference Championship is a big achievement for any team and they can use the 'inferiority complex' to motivate the players in this one.
Instead of having to worry about potentially 'impressing' the Playoff Committee, the Trojans will simply having been working on a plan to impose themselves Offensively. One of the big problems this season has been an inability to run the ball with any kind of consistency and Troy will not be expected to have a lot of impact trying to run the ball against this James Madison Defensive Line.
Goose Crowder returning at Quarter Back has given the Trojans something of a spark, and he has led the team to important wins to merely make the Championship Game.
However, throwing from third and long is tough enough without facing a Secondary like this one at James Madison, and especially when the Trojans Offensive Line have not always been the most productive in pass protection.
The Trojans should still have some success when it comes to moving the ball, although drives are expected to stall at times.
You cannot make that argument with as much confidence when it comes to this James Madison team that have found considerable balance when it comes to running and throwing the ball. Making things more comfortable is the fact that the Troy Defensive Line have had issues stopping the run, which in turn has made it that much more difficult when trying to slow down drives.
Alonza Barrett III may not be asked to throw too often in what are expected to be cold and potentially snowy conditions, but he can keep this drive ticking over when he is needed to do that.
Despite that, the Dukes should be comfortable showcasing their Offensive power and they will be looking to show the Playoff Committee why they should be a surprise contender for a place in the post-season amongst the elite of the College Football nation.
Conditions will make things tougher, but this team has dominated the Sun Belt Conference and they can do enough to win a Championship behind a dominant win.
BYU Cougars vs Texas Tech Red Raiders Pick: The Big 12 teams that came through the pack to both finish with 8-1 records in the Conference will be competing in the Championship Game.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1) and BYU Cougars (11-1) both have the same record, but it is Texas Tech who have been Ranked higher by the Playoff Committee and they are going to be competing in the Playoff regardless of the outcome. However, the BYU Cougars have effectively been asked to 'prove themselves' by winning the Big 12 Championship, even though the Big 12 Commissioner and both Head Coaches in this game have made it clear that both of these teams deserve their spot in the final twelve.
It is the regular season win secured by the Red Raiders over the Cougars that has given them the edge and Texas Tech are rightly favoured in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Errors made a big difference in the regular season loss, but it is going be a challenge for the Cougars to change things dramatically.
A problem is that the Cougars may struggle to run the ball, as they did in the regular season game against Texas Tech- they only had 2.5 yards per carry in that game and the Red Raiders Defensive Line have continued to clamp down on the run as the season has wound down.
Bear Bachmeier may have to carrry the burden for the BYU Offense, although there has been so much to like about this Texas Tech Secondary and the way they have backed up the stout Defensive Line. The Quarter Back struggled in that regular season meeting for consistency and that may be the case again in the Championship Game, which gives Texas Tech a big advantage.
Much like the Cougars, Texas Tech's Offensive Line may have a few problems when it comes to consistently pounding the rock on the ground.
However, Behren Morton is expected to have a few more holes to exploit when it steps back to throw the ball down the field, even though he will have to look out for the Cougars pass rush. If the team have placed Morton in third and manageable spots, the Quarter Back should be able to expose spaces in the BYU Secondary and that will give the Red Raiders a chance to back up the regular season win with another in the Championship Game.
Beating a team twice in the same season is never easy, but the Texas Tech Red Raiders have looked the stand out team in the Big 12 and they can secure another relatively comfortable win over the second best team in the Conference.
Duke Blue Devils vs Virginia Cavaliers Pick: Two years ago, the ACC were incredibly upset when the unbeaten Conference Champion was not called up to take part in the then four team College Football Playoff.
In 2025 there is potentially another situation developing where the ACC would not have a representative in the twelve team Playoff and it all comes down the Championship Game.
If the Duke Blue Devils (7-5) were to upset the Virginia Cavaliers (10-2), there is a real chance that the ACC will not be included in the Playoff- the Blue Devils finished 6-2 in the Conference and came out on the right side of a number of permutations to face the Cavaliers, who finished 7-1 in the ACC, and Duke will be looking for revenge after being blown out at home by this team three weeks ago.
The Cavaliers were dominant in that game, but they are well aware that this is a brand new day and the preparation has been to face a Duke team at their best.
However, it is the Virginia Defensive unit that looks very capable in shutting down the Duke Offense and that could be the key to the outcome, much as it was in the regular season.
Duke's Offensive Line is unlikely to have a lot of success running the ball against this Cavaliers team and that will mean Darian Mensah is going to have to step up for his team. He did have decent passing numbers in the first meeting, but Mensah will know how much of a challenge it is to keep the chains moving against this Virginia Secondary.
Of course the Blue Devils have nothing to lose and will pull out every play from the book to try and keep Virginia guessing, but the consistency they lack with the ball in hand is unlikely to be a similar problem for the Cavaliers.
Three weeks ago they piled up well over 500 Offensive yards against the Duke Blue Devils and the Cavaliers are likely to be very balanced when they have the ball in this one.
The Cavaliers Offensive Line is likely going to be the dominant force on the Line of Scrimmage and they should be able to make sure the team is in third and manageable spots for much of this game. This should only make things very comfortable for Chandler Morris at Quarter Back who will be aware of the issues Duke have had in the Secondary and the Cavaliers look like they can win well and make sure they earn their spot in the Playoff as the ACC representative.
Covering turned out to be pretty comfortable in the road win over the Blue Devils, but this one is likely to be closer with Duke pulling out all of the stops to try and keep up on the scoreboard.
With the strength of the Cavaliers on the Defensive side of the ball, Virginia should eventually begin to make the plays to pull away and earn a victory and cover to pick up the ACC Championship.
MY PICKS: Kennesaw State Owls - 1.5 Points @ 1.80 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
James Madison Dukes - 23.5 Points @ 1.85 Ladbrokes (1 Unit)
Texas Tech Red Raiders - 12.5 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Virginia Cavaliers - 4 Points @ 1.91 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Week 14: 5-2-1, + 2.44 Units (8 Units Staked, + 30.50% Yield)
Week 13: 3-3, - 0.35 Units (6 Units Staked, - 5.83% Yield
Week 12: 4-2, + 1.64 Units (6 Units Staked, + 27.33% Yield)
Week 11: 1-5, - 4.09 Units (6 Units Staked, - 68.17% Yield)
Week 10: 3-3, - 0.33 Units (6 Units Staked, - 5.50% Yield)
Week 9: 3-3, - 0.19 Units (6 Units Staked, - 3.17% Yield)
Week 8: 2-3, - 1.18 Units (5 Units Staked, - 23.60% Yield)
Week 7: 4-1, + 2.62 Units (5 Units Staked, + 52.40% Yield)
Week 6: 2-4, - 2.22 Units (6 Units Staked, - 37% Yield)
Week 5: 1-5, - 4.20 Units (6 Units Staked, - 70% Yield)
Week 4: 2-4, - 2.14 Units (6 Units Staked, - 35.67% Yield)
Week 3: 4-4, - 0.36 (8 Units Staked, - 4.50% Yield)
Week 1: 1-4, - 3.14 Units (5 Units Staked, - 62.80% Yield)
Week 0: 2-1, + 0.75 Units (3 Units Staked, + 25% Yield)
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