Championship Week Pt 2

Welcome back to the Championship Week discussion. Part 2 covers the title games that we’ll see tomorrow. We brought Buddy back after his unbeaten picks in Part 1. Please remember Buddy is 6 years old but he has proven he has what it takes. Lets not waste any time, here are the picks…

Houston and East Carolina are facing off for the Conference USA hardware. East Carolina is the defending champ and gets the game at home, which will help. The winner will make it to the Liberty Bowl, most likely. What makes this game interesting? Houston boasts the top scoring offense in the FBS behind Heisman long shot Case Keenum who has tossed 38 touchdowns this season. Houston also fields one of the worst defenses in football. Look for a high scoring and entertaining game. One of Buddy’s favorite movies is Pirates of the Caribbean, so guess who he picked? That’s tight, the Pirates upset the Cougars. Prediction East Carolina 38, Houston 35

The Big East Conference trophy is on the line when Cincinnati visits the Pitt Panthers. The side story in this game is the future of Bearcat coach Brian Kelly. Is he leaving for Notre Dame? The Bearcats have Tony Pike back and are one of the top offenses. However they’re one dimensional. They like to pass, pass, and pass. That plays right into the strength of the Panthers. They have a ferocious pass rush and lead the nation in sacks. Cincy has also struggled to stop the run, and Dave Wannstedt likes to control the clock. He’ll feed Cincy a heavy dose of freshman Dion Lewis running the ball. Unbeaten Cincinnati is actually a three point underdog. Buddy picks the Cincy Bearcats. Bears are dangerous he says. Prediction Cincinnati 35, Pittsburgh 17

The game that everyone wants to see comes to us in the middle of the afternoon, the SEC Championship from Atlanta. It’s a playoff game really, the winner goes to the BCS Title game and the loser heads to the Sugar Bowl, unless something really weird happens in some on the other games. Heisman hopefuls Tim Tebow and Mark Ingram will look to improve their resumes. The game is a rematch of last year’s title game and features two big time coaches, Urban Meyer and Nick Saban. I’ll call this game “the Battle of the Asses”. Both teams feature tough defensive units. Scoring will be tough. Whoever sneaks in the most big plays will escape with the win. What is Buddy’s insight? Elephants can step on alligators. Alabama wins the logo battle. Prediction Alabama 23, Florida 14

Saturday finishes with what could be a couple of barn burners. One nightcap is the Big 12 Championship game at Cowboys Stadium. The Texas Longhorns are looking to cash their check to the BCS Title game. Standing in the way are the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who can claim a spot in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl with an upset victory. The Blackshirts have been impressive this year and Texas has shown a few kinks in the offensive armor at times. On the other side of the ball, the Longhorns defense has been equally as good and is top ranked in the Big 12. I don’t see the Huskers offense being able to score enough points and Heisman candidate Colt McCoy will do enough to win. Buddy also likes Texas. He’s running around with Hook ‘em Horns going on both hands. Prediction Texas 34, Nebraska 10

The other nightcap is for the ACC crown. Atlantic Division champ Clemson is facing Coastal champ Georgia Tech at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The winner is awarded a trip to the FedEx Orange Bowl. The game will feature this season’s ACC Player of the Year, CJ Spiller of Clemson, and last years POY, Tech’s Jonathon Dywer. The title game is also a rematch from earlier this year when the Yellow Jackets built a huge lead and then had to hang on to defeat the Tigers 30-27. The key to the game is the defense. The defense that steps up and can contain the run, will win the game. Buddy laughed when he found out a Yellow Jacket was a bee. He thinks the Tigers win in an upset. Prediction Clemson 27, Georgia Tech 21

Enjoy the games everyone, drink a couple beers, and get your BCS gripes ready for Sunday.