Conference Championships and a Few Other Picks

Just 15 games on tap, counting the Army/Navy game. I went 25-16 with my picks this past week to run my record to 331-126. Not a great week, but still 205 games over .500 on the year, which I'll take.

Central Florida at East Carolina
After a two game rut in which ECU lost two straight on the road to Cincinnati and Temple, the Pirates seem to be back on the right track with two straight blowout wins. Although they can't win an American Athletic Conference title, they can certainly spoil UCF's hopes of a shared AAC title. The Knights enter play at 6-1 in AAC play, which has them half a game behind 7-1 Memphis, who is guaranteed at least a share of the conference title. The Knights want a piece of the pie, but they don't get it. Shane Carden and Co. make them walk the plank.
My Call: East Carolina 31, Central Florida 26

Bowling Green vs. Northern Illinois (MAC Championship Game; at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan)
Knowing this isn't a regular season rematch, it makes me like this matchup a bit more than other potential MAC title games going into last week did. No do overs and may the best team win; that's exactly how it should be. Anyway, Bowling Green can't be happy about the way they've limped into this game, having lost their last two games. Different story on the Northern Illinois side as they've won six in a row coming into this contest. With this in mind, I'm not gonna pick the upset, but I am expecting the Falcons to make a game out of this one. College football is just so unpredictable this year that the team limping into this one will make the hot team sweat.
My Call: Northern Illinois 34, Bowling Green 31

#8 Arizona vs. #3 Oregon (Pac-12 Championship Game; at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California)
One more time. That has to be the theme of the week for Arizona; having already beaten Oregon once this season; at Autzen Stadium no less. The Wildcats seem to be peaking at the right time, but it's so hard to beat a team like the Ducks twice in one season. Marcus Mariotta is playing like a man possessed and this time, he'll do enough to get Oregon by Arizona and the Ducks finally get the revenge on the Cats they had to have been looking for the first time around. They'll be happier getting it here, clinching a spot in college football's first annual playoff.
My Call: Oregon 34, Arizona 27

#14 Missouri vs. #1 Alabama (SEC Championship Game; at Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia)
Respect. That's what the Missouri Tigers want. This is their second straight trip to the SEC title game. They played alright against Auburn a year ago, but couldn't keep up for the full 60 minutes and faltered late in a 59-42 defeat. My guess is this game will be more of a defensive struggle. Like against Auburn, my guess is Mizzou will play fairly well and put forth an effort worthy of respect, but that they don't have enough offense to pull this one off.
My Call: Alabama 31, Missouri 20

#12 Georgia Tech vs. #2 Florida State (ACC Championship Game; at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina)
Living on the edge is exactly what FSU has done all season long. Hard to see why they won't have to do so again here, but until somebody actually beats them, it's hard to pick against them. At least when they're playing conference teams. Anyway, Georgia Tech's option will give the Noles some issues, but I also think their offense could have more success against the Yellow Jacket defense than they've had in recent weeks. After all, do you really think Jameis Winston is gonna perform so poorly for the second straight week?  I don't. The Noles again find a way.
My Call: Florida State 26, Georgia Tech 23

#11 Wisconsin vs. #6 Ohio State (Big 10 Championship Game; at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis)
Like Ohio State or not (and there's not a lot of in between with most), you have to feel bad for them. They lost QB J.T. Barrett to a broken ankle for the rest of this season. That makes for two QBs they've lost this year; losing Braxton Miller for the season before even playing a single game. Barrett was doing a great job, too. Anyway, without Barrett, the Buckeyes will turn to redshirt sophomore Cardale Jones. Jones is a huge kid, checking in at 6'5" and 250 pounds. I don't think he'll be the running threat Barrett was, but I can't imagine he'll be easy for Wisconsin's defense to bring down at that size. Without Barrett,  I'm guessing a lot of the action will be on the Badgers to win the game. And I'm gonna predict it to happen too, but Ohio State will rally around Cardale Jones and make this an excellent game. Melvin Gordon makes the difference on the ground.
My Call: Wisconsin 30, Ohio State 27

Louisiana Tech at Marshall (Conference USA Championship Game)
Wow. That's the one word to describe Marshall's surprising 67-66 overtime loss to Western Kentucky. Good news is it didn't affect their spot in Conference USA as they'll still be hosting the conference title game. Bad news is it was not a loss to be proud of; and could potentially cost them a shot at a better bowl. Anyway, I think this game with Louisiana Tech will be a lot like their last one with the Hilltoppers was as the Bulldogs are themselves capable of putting plenty of points on the scoreboard. However, this time, I think the Herd will come out on top. They won't want to go into bowl season with two straight losses hanging over their heads.
My Call: Marshall 49, Louisiana Tech 45

Fresno State at #22 Boise State (Mountain West Championship Game)
Dominant win over Utah State has Boise State on their smurf turf hosting the conference title game against a Fresno State team that essentially snuck into the game with a 6-6 mark. That's the advantage of playing in the weaker division in the conference as the Bulldogs 5-3 mark in Mountain West play won them their division, but would have placed them just fourth in Boise State's division with Air Force. Although the Broncos do seem like a shoo-in, let's remember that Fresno State already played Boise State even for three quarters once this season, and that game took place in Boise. Eh, I still think Boise State wins. Sorry, Bulldogs.
My Call: Boise State 41, Fresno State 30

Iowa State at #4 TCU
TCU can clinch a share of the Big 12 title (there's no Big 12 title game) with a win over winless in conference Iowa State. There's really no reason why this game should be a contest. The Horned Frogs have a very nice team on both sides of the ball and the Cyclones shouldn't be able to keep up barring a TCU disaster. That did almost happen against Kansas, but that game came on the road. Just can't see any worries about it happening in Fort Worth.
My Call: TCU 45, Iowa State 10

Oklahoma State at #18 Oklahoma
Bedlam pits two in-state teams that had higher hopes for the season. Oklahoma obviously had both conference and national title hopes at the start, being ranked third in the coaches poll to start the season. However, they'll achieve neither of these. Although Oklahoma State seemed to be in rebuild mode, they have to be disappointed in a 5-6 mark through 11 games and missing out entirely on bowl season if they don't win this game. Unfortunately, I've seen nothing from the Cowboys that convinces me they will win this game. Sooners in a rout.
My Call: Oklahoma 38, Oklahoma State 17

Houston at Cincinnati
Give me Gunner Kiel and the Bearcats at home. If they do indeed win, they'd clinch a share of the American Athletic Conference title with Memphis and possibly Central Florida. Although, me personally, I'd give Memphis the edge on Cincinnati considering the Tigers crushed the Bearcats in Cincinnati earlier this season. Unfortunately, college football doesn't seem to see it my way.
My Call: Cincinnati 35, Houston 27

SMU at Connecticut
Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris will be SMU's new head coach come the start of the 2015 season. Gotta say I think that was quite a hire for this Mustang program which is suffering through an 0-11 season. Morris is a quality recruiter and has a lot of Texas roots, having coached plenty there in the high school ranks. My guess is he'll be able to turn them around. Unfortunately, that won't happen this week as they'll complete an 0-12 2014 in what is otherwise a meaningless game for both these teams. UConn hasn't been very good either, but they at least have a couple wins on the season and this will be their third.
My Call: UConn 28, SMU 16

Temple at Tulane
Don't have a lot of thoughts on this one; just gonna put faith in Temple to figure out a way to become bowl eligible in what I think will be an ugly, low scoring affair.
My Call: Temple 14, Tulane 13

#9 Kansas State at #5 Baylor
Should TCU beat Iowa State as expected, this game will be for a share of the Big 12 crown with the Horned Frogs. With that in mind, I don't know if TCU will care *that* much, but I'd bet they'd rather see K-State win given that they and Baylor are basically side by side with one another in the College Football Playoff rankings as well as the fact that they beat Kansas State while losing to Baylor. Bad news for the Bears is Bryce Petty suffered a concussion in the Texas Tech game; and they very nearly blew a huge lead; holding on for a 48-46 win. Good news is they still did win and Bryce Petty seems very likely to be ready for this game. Funnily enough, assuming Petty is feeling no ill effects from that concussion, my guess is that scare from Texas Tech will actually serve them well for this one. Art Briles is a smart coach and he'll use that to make sure his players don't let their guard down at any point in this game regardless of what the scoreboard says. Kansas State coach Bill Snyder is a great coach and no doubt he'll have his Wildcats ready to go in this one. I just don't know if they have enough talent to keep Baylor's offense in check. The effort will certainly be there, it's demanded if you're going to play for Bill Snyder. My pick is Baylor though.
My Call: Baylor 48, Kansas State 38

Army vs. Navy (at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland)
In what will be the 115th meeting between these two long time rivals, Navy will be looking to extend its recent stranglehold on this rivalry. After losing in 2002, the Midshipmen have reeled off the last 12 games of this series. Will 13 be an unlucky number for them? Although 13 has a myth behind it that it can be unlucky, that won't be the case here. I expect more of the same. Navy wins and then gets ready for the Poinsettia Bowl against San Diego State.

My Call: Navy 37, Army 20