We’ve made it, folks! It’s conference championship week, which means the 2024 college football regular season is officially over. It was a wild ride that saw the most parity a season has seen in what feels like forever.

And with the CFP rankings recently being announced as they were, we know these games will surely have a bearing on Selection Sunday. That’s great for a team like Clemson – not so much for their upcoming counterpart, SMU.

 

 

 

It’s evident that these are the top teams in each conference with all matchups having single-digit point spreads. Should be a fun couple of days, but what do our CFB best bets have lined up this time around?

CFB Picks, Predictions & Best Bets: Conference Championship Week

In theory, the games most peoples’ eyes will be on is the SEC Championship game and the Big Ten Championship game. Though it’s worth pointing out that, regardless of those outcomes, all 4 of those teams are more than likely secure in the CFP. 

In the Big 12 and ACC though, this appears to be much more of a ‘win and you’re in’ type of thing. I’ve laid out a few player props at the end of this CFB best bets article, but first here’s my Georgia vs. Texas prediction and Penn State vs. Oregon prediction.

 

 

 

Georgia vs. Texas Prediction: Saturday, December 7th

We know that these two teams met earlier in the season, but it’s safe to say that they’re both playing much different ball than they were at that time. Texas is playing better, in my opinion, yet Georgia won fairly easily last time around.

That’s making it tough for me to decide on a pick ATS, so instead I’ll focus on the game total. Aside from a hiccup against Ole Miss, the Bulldogs offense has been rolling this season, with 8 of their last 9 games resulting in 30+ points. That includes when they put up 30 on Texas in Week 8.

I’m not worried about them being able to score, even against a stout Longhorns defense, but it’s the Georgia defense I’m concerned about here. They’ve played rather poorly their last 2 times out coming against UMass and Georgia Tech – not exactly offensive powerhouses.

The Longhorns have won with their defense mainly, but the offense is certainly capable of holding their own (21st in NCAAF in points per game at 34.8). Add in the fact that the total isn’t set all that high to begin with, and I’m liking the over to start these CFB best bets. We don’t need the offenses to be elite; just to do enough.

 

 

 

Penn State vs. Oregon Prediction: Saturday, December 7th

Let’s cap off our CFB best bets for the conference championship games with the Big Ten Championship. Something about this line feels fishy, but I’ll take the bait. The Ducks are the much, much better team in this matchup.

It’s clear at this point that James Franklin struggles (to put it lightly) in big games. He had the chance to redeem his past when Ohio State came into Happy Valley this season, and still couldn’t get the job done. That same Ohio State team that just lost to Michigan at home.

I just have no faith in the Nittany Lions to win a game of relevance at this point, and when Dillon Gabriel is the opposing quarterback too, it gets even tougher. What about the best tight end in the nation, Tyler Warren? Well, Oregon is actually elite at defending TEs this season, and if PSU can't utilize him, they’ll be in for a long, long game.

We’ve seen the Ducks come out to some slow starts this season, and they could do so here as well. I expect it to be a Penn State-heavy crowd in Indianapolis, but when the clock hits all zeroes in the 4th quarter, I’m rather confident that Oregon will be the team on top – probably by a touchdown or so.

 

 

 

Best CFB Prop Bets & Other Picks - Conference Championships