Michigan Football: Your rooting guide for championship week
Big-12 Championship: (9) Baylor vs. (5) Oklahoma State, Saturday, December 4th, 12:00p.m. EST, ABC
On Saturday, (the official day of championship week) we have the first game of the day, a noon tilt pitting Baylor against Oklahoma State.
This game should be a thriller. Baylor has been surging as of late, with their biggest win coming a few weeks ago, when they knocked off the #8 ranked Oklahoma (at that time) to dash Oklahoma’s playoff hopes.
On the flip side, it’s very rare to see a team not named Oklahoma from the Big-12 on the doorstep to the college football playoff this late in the season.
That’s the situation Oklahoma State finds themselves in as they are playing their best football as of late with a balanced offense, and a really good defense.
In terms of rooting guide, Michigan football fans need Oklahoma State to win this game. If Oklahoma State wins this game, they will serve as the best shot at beating Georgia in the first round (who we will get to a little later in this article).
If Baylor wins, neither of these teams make the playoff, and it gives teams like Notre Dame and Ohio State a slim chance to squeak into the playoff.
MAC Championship: Kent State vs. Northern Illinois, Saturday, December 4th, 12:00p.m. EST, ESPN
It’s been 49 years since Kent State last won a MAC title (it’s only one). Root for them if you do tune into this game at all. Otherwise, this game has no impact on Michigan or the playoff obviously.
This game should be high-scoring, as NIU won the first meeting between these schools a month ago, 52-47. Oh yeah, another reason to root for Kent State: NIU’s QB is Rocky Lombardi (remember him?).
We already dislike Rocky from his time at Michigan State, and we disliked him when he played us earlier this year (in a 63-10 drubbing by us).
Rocky had the nerve to taunt Michigan fans when he scored a rushing TD against us down 63-3 (albeit when third-string and fourth-string guys were playing). The guy still rubs me the wrong way. So, root for Kent State if you end up watching a little of the game!