After today, The Saturday Watchlist will officially be hitting the hay for a while.
That’s obviously sad, but as we embark on the final big-time Saturday of the season, let’s just enjoy the college football we have in front of us. Because while some might choose to be upset at this all coming to an end, I’m going to go down the path of happiness.
There are five FBS college football games today — all of them conference championships. It starts in the morning with the Big 12 and BYU-Texas Tech. The winner secures a berth to the College Football Playoff, of course, but it’s a bit more complicated than that. You see, if Texas Tech wins, then BYU is most likely out and the Big 12 will have just one representative in the CFP. If BYU wins, however, then both it and Texas Tech will go.
There’s also the SEC Championship Game between Georgia and Alabama in the afternoon. Some are saying that Alabama — which is ranked No. 9 coming into the day, could drop out of the CFP if it loses. I’ll believe that when I see it. There’s just no way that the selection committee would drop the SEC runner-up out of the playoff. Right?
The final act of the day could be the most entertaining of all with the Big Ten Championship and the ACC Championship. It’s a battle between No. 1 and No. 2 in Indianapolis for the right to claim the Big Ten’s most coveted prize. That on its face isn’t the most surprising thing in the world, but the fact that one of those teams is Indiana — a school that usually doesn’t care all that much about football — is truly astounding. I still haven’t wrapped my head around the fact that the Hoosiers are actually good at this sport now.
But as you’re watching Indiana-Ohio State, remember that 7-5 Duke is playing Virginia for a chance to win the ACC. The playoff implications are somewhat simple: if Virginia wins, it’ll go to the CFP as one of the five highest ranked conference champions. If Duke wins, however, the situation gets a little muddier. There’s a shot that the selection committee could choose to include what would be an 8-5 Duke as one its highest ranked conference champions, but the more likely scenario is that it would put No. 25 James Madison — which won the Sun Belt last night — in instead. So, yeah, there’s a chance that no ACC team enters the field come selection day tomorrow morning.
That’s the slate! And that’s pretty much the watchlist. It should be a fun day.
