Carla and Crappy Show: The 2024 Champinchip Edition

It’s Week … oh, you know what? Who cares what week it is? We only care about one thing: It’s Champinchip Week, friends.

The dust has finally settled. (We’re looking at you, Big 12.) The matchups are set … and some are unexpected. And at least five of this weekend’s nine games have playoff implications. It’s gonna be a fun one.

But before we get into breaking down every title game this weekend, we take a look back … which is easier for some of us than others. AJ noted the feistiness of the weekend in general, but in a rare twist of fate, the Big 12 got the simplest possible outcome to its multiverse of options. (Go figure.) Carla learned that her Nittany Lions would be playing the B1G title game … at an IKEA. And Crappy? He has some thoughts about The Game.

After a review of the playoff rankings, we’re off to the races. And we start, naturally, with the Group of 5.

CUSA: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State (7 ET Friday, CBSSN): It’s a home-and-home for the CUSA title. The Toppers won this game last weekend on their home turf. Can they go to Alabama and win two weeks in a row? Or will the Gamecocks win their first conference title in FBS?

Mountain West: No. 20 UNLV at No. 10 Boise State (8 ET Friday, FOX): You want serious playoff implications on Friday night? This game’s for you. Boise’s looking to punch their ticket to the playoff and a first-round bye, but the Rebs may have something to say about that. The first matchup between these teams this season was a banger; we expect nothing less here.

American: Tulane at No. 24 Army (8 ET Friday, ABC): The Waves have done bad things to the troops this season. Can Army weather the storm? If they can, there’s a (really small) outside chance that they could sneak into the playoff.

MAC: Ohio vs. Miami (Noon ET Saturday, ESPN): A Battle of the Bricks rematch in Detroit has Crappy fired up. Can the Bobcats win their first conference title since 1968? We’re pulling for you, green.

Sun Belt: Marshall at Louisiana (7:30 ET Saturday, ESPN): The Cajuns have been rolling, but Marshall is a formidable foe.

And then, on to the Big Boy games. (But let’s be real; all of this week’s games are Big Boy games.)

Big 12: No. 16 Iowa State vs. No. 15 Arizona State (Noon ET Saturday, ABC): The simplest outcome in the buffet leads to a matchup that we’re pretty convinced will result in #ForksUp and a playoff berth for the Devils. Just as we all predicted at the beginning of the season.

SEC: No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 2 Texas (4 ET Saturday, ABC): The Dawgs won the first meeting between these two convincingly. Has Texas learned anything since then? What we know for sure: Georgia has a lot of work to do to recover from 8 OTs last weekend.

Big Ten: No. 3 Penn State vs. No. 1 Oregon (8 ET Saturday, CBS): The Ducks have been dominant all season. Can James Franklin win a big game that isn’t against Ohio State or Michigan? Carla’s going to be there to find out. (Also, smash that Tyler Warren button, Nits.)

ACC: No. 17 Clemson vs. No. 8 SMU (8 ET Saturday, ABC): This title game could cause the most chaos in the playoff. A Tigers win – and an automatic berth – could wreak havoc on the seedings. While we typically root for chaos, we’re all in on the Show Ponies.

And finally, we throw in one last game for good measure:

Navy vs. No. 24 Army (3 ET Dec. 14, CBS): An interesting wrinkle is that Army is playing for a conference title. They’ve been the stronger academy all year, but with the additional game, does that level the playing field for Navy? (You already know how we all picked in this game.)

There you have it. The 2024 conference season will be in the books by Sunday, and we’ll turn our attention to the most wonderful time of the year: Bowlapalooza. We’ll be back soon with that frivolity … as well as all of the playoff discussion that you can handle. Enjoy the big games this weekend, yinz. Cheers.