Bold Predictions for Conference Championship Week - 2024 College Football

All roads lead to conference championship week. After a wild Week 14, the slate does not look how it was previously anticipated to look. Ohio State and Miami will be watching this week’s matchups from the couch, while teams like Clemson, Boise State, UNLV, Arizona State, and Iowa State are fighting for their CFP lives.

Week 13’s bold predictions were hit and miss -- I was right about Georgia Tech playing Georgia in a one-possession game but not even I was bold enough to call an eight-overtime barnburner. I also had South Carolina over Clemson, but in a more dominant fashion than the last-minute game-winning touchdown.

I will admit I was wrong on Arizona State, but I think that miss was more about Arizona being nowhere near what I thought it could be this season. We’re going right back to fading the Sun Devils in this column this week. 

Alabama Is In CFP Field On Tuesday

Conference championship week starts on Friday, but the politics start a lot earlier, as Tuesday’s ranking show will tell us a lot about what the field will look like. With a shakeup bound to happen after a wild rivalry week, I predict that Alabama will be in the field as the 12th team.

The college football playoff committee to Alabama. pic.twitter.com/tEaop232Tm

— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 27, 2024

Do the Crimson Tide deserve it? No. If I were on the committee, this would not be happening. I do believe that Alabama will be ranked ahead of Iowa State, Miami, and South Carolina -- none of which I would have it ahead of, personally. 

Whatever team is in the final spot of the field on Tuesday night, it will need SMU to beat Clemson to keep the ACC from potentially being a two-bid league. The Mustangs fan base is about to grow exponentially on Saturday night.

UNLV Knocks Out Boise State

Ever since the playoff discussions heated up midseason, Boise State has been penciled in as the Group of 5 participant. That is all on the line on Friday night. With Tulane losing last week to Memphis, the winner of the Mountain West title game is very likely to take a spot in the CFP field. 

UNLV played Boise State very closely earlier in the season, falling 29-24. Its only other loss was an overtime shootout against Syracuse. The Rebels are one of the NCAA’s most underrated teams. It’s hard to beat a team twice. Give me the Rebels to sneak into the playoffs with a win over Boise.

Iowa State Storms Into CFP

Everyone, myself included, counted Iowa State out after it lost two straight to Texas Tech and Kansas. The Cyclones are right back in the mix, taking on Arizona State in a win-and-in Big 12 title game.

Jordyn Tyson is out indefinitely per Kenny Dillingham in his press conference today.

We all saw this coming but still sad to hear 😢

— Barstool ASU (@tempebarstool) December 2, 2024

Arizona State’s superstar receiver, Jordyn Tyson, won’t play after suffering an injury in the Arizona game. Tyson’s absence severely impacts the Sun Devils passing game, as he has accounted for 41% of their receiving yardage this season.

Iowa State has a more experienced coach, Matt Campbell, paired with more talent. Arizona State has been a fun underdog story, but I like the Cyclones to win and battle their way back into the playoff field.

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