Featured Image: Alabama Crimson Tide junior quarterback Ty Simpson (15) drops back to pass against the Mercer Bears on Saturday Nov. 16 2024 at Bryant-Denny Stadium. (Photo Credit / Alabama Athletics)

We have sifted through the grueling college football season and now sit at the doorstep of championship weekend with four heavy hitters set to face off on Saturday. 

Biggest of all is a massive Big 10 Championship battle between the No. 1 and 2 seeds of the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Indiana Hoosiers, respectively. Both teams are 12-0 on the season and have dominated on their way to Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 6, 2025.

The other is a classic SEC Championship matchup between the No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs—a rematch of an earlier meeting in which Alabama won 24-21.  

Hoosiers topple the giant

A meeting that used to be a sleepwalk win for Ohio State is now a heavyweight bout between two undefeated teams that now vie for the No. 1 seed in college football.  

Ohio State is the favorite in this one, and it is easy to see why. Sophomore quarterback Julian Sayin is firmly in the race for the Heisman trophy with 3,065 yards and 30 touchdowns. Sayin also has two future first round picks at the wide receiver position in junior Carnell Tate and sophomore Jeremiah Smith. Smith and Tate have totaled over 1,700 yards and 19 touchdowns combined.

This talent alone is enough to make any team a threat to beat any other team in the country. However, Ohio State is also littered with NFL talent at every other position on the field, including four potential first rounders on the defensive side as well.  

Though, this is not David versus Goliath anymore; it is more like teenage Goliath versus Goliath. 

Indiana does not have near the talent that Ohio State has, nor will it. However, Indiana might be the most well coached team in the country with the best quarterback in the country. Head coach Curt Cignetti has been in Indiana for two years and continues to make the program into a powerhouse that—probably most—Hoosier fans never could have predicted.  

Along with Cignetti, senior quarterback Fernando Mendoza has also led the effort for Indiana to get the No. 1 spot in the playoffs. 

Mendoza, like Sayin, has been heavily favored in the Heisman race during the season with 2,758 yards and 32 touchdowns. This game could be the deciding factor between which of the two take the hardware home.  

Despite the talent in difference, I believe coaching and discipline could be the difference in this one. Give me the hard nose coaching style of Cignetti over Ohio State head coach Ryan Day.  

I think Indiana grinds this game out over the Buckeyes with technically a home field advantage in Lucas Oil Stadium. 

Indiana wins: 20-17 

Bulldogs get their revenge

In previous weeks, I predicted that Georgia would finally crawl out from under the shadow of Alabama. That fell short when Alabama defeated Georgia 24-21, a close defeat that felt like a crushing one for Georgia.  

This game was also the start of a hot streak from Alabama junior quarterback Ty Simpson. Simpson has cooled off since then but still boasts a solid 3,056 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. 

On the other side, Georgia quarterback Gunnar Stockton has been the model of consistency with 2,535 yards and 20 touchdowns. Both teams also have similar talent pools.  

So what will be the difference to make me, eventually, say Georgia will win this thing? I believe much more in Georgia head coach Kirby Smart to make adjustments than Alabama head coach Kalen Deboer. It might burn me, but I will take a veteran coach in a second match up over the newer guy.  

The game was close before in an Alabama home game. Now, Georgia gets the home game in the SEC championship, and I think that can make the difference.  

Georgia wins: 30-24