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College Football Week 14: FanSided expert picks and predictions

By Patrick Schmidt

Oct 22, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) talks to head coach Chris Petersen after Browning scored a rushing touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies quarterback Jake Browning (3) talks to head coach Chris Petersen after Browning scored a rushing touchdown against the Oregon State Beavers during the first quarter at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Championship Week is here and the FanSided staff is ready to make their college football picks and predictions for the week’s biggest games.

It’s Championship Week in college football where at least two College Football Playoff spots are on the line and potentially a third depending on what happens over the weekend. We know Alabama is a lock as the lone undefeated Power Five team and owning the top spot in the rankings. The Crimson Tide are playing the Florida Gators in the SEC Championship Game for the second straight year. For the second straight year, the Gators are wondering how they’re going to score on the nation’s top defense.

We think the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes are a lock despite not winning the Big Ten this year, but because of the human element of the playoff committee, we can never be too sure. The Wisconsin Badgers take on the Penn State Nittany Lions where the winner of the best conference in college football this year may be left out of the playoff picture unless one wins in a one-sided affair.

The ACC Championship Game sees Deshaun Watson looking to lead the Clemson Tigers to a second straight crown and Playoff berth but must get past Justin Fuente’s Virginia Tech Hokies first. Clemson is in with a win.

Over to the Pac-12 where the No. 4 Washington Huskies are in with a win over the Colorado Buffaloes. Should Colorado pull off the upset, we could see chaos on our hands with Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson and either the Big Ten champion or even the No. 5 Michigan Wolverines getting a playoff berth.

Could the Big 12 find a way to get in? Probably not, unless both Clemson and Washington lose, but they’d likely need either Oklahoma or Oklahoma State to win in a blowout to get the committee’s attention.

The FanSided staff is making picks for all of those games as well as the conference championship games for the Group of Five. Joining us this week are Tyler Hunt and Trevor Jossart who are site experts at Wisconsin team site Badger of Honor. They’re siding with the Badgers, but let’s take a look at the picks of the 10 games from our team.

college football picks
college football picks /
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As a refresher, meet the FanSided staff below.

FanSided Staff

  • Patrick Allen: FanSided VP of Content
  • Mike Dyce: FanSided Senior Director of Editorial Operations
  • Jack Jorgensen: FanSided Editor and College Football Expert
  • Patrick Schmidt: FanSided College Football Expert and Entertainment Editor
  • Michael Collins: FanSided NCAA Director
  • Josh Hill: FanSided Editor
  • Matt Verderame: FanSided Editor and NFL Expert
  • Kayla Knierim: FanSided Video Personality
  • Tyler Brooke: FanSided Associate Producer, Saturday Blitz Editor

Next: Best Tailgating Venues On The Map

There will be a winner crowned after this week, but in the event of a tie, we will save the Army-Navy game to serve as a tie-breaker should we see two or more FanSider’s come in tied after this week’s festivities. Unlike the NFL, we’ll keep playing until there is a winner crowned.

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