ZWF: Conference Championship Weekend is set
Zander's Weekend Facts #94: Sunday, November 26, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, only one weekend remains before the College Football Playoff field is revealed, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know about from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 124 features a preview of College Football’s rivalry week, along with analysis of the various scenarios that could impact this season’s College Football Playoff. Download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, November 26, 2023:
The College Football season winds down
Saturday marked the final games of the 2023 regular season in college football. However, there will be one more set of games to be played before the College Football Playoff Selection Committee selects who will participate in the four-team Playoff.
It will be the final year of the four-team CFP, as the Playoff expands to include 12 teams next season.
For this year, there are eight teams heading into conference championship weekend who believe they have a legitimate argument at reaching the final four. Seven of them will be participating in their conference’s championship game.
Those teams, in order of current CFP ranking, are #1 Georgia, #2 Ohio State, #3 Michigan, #4 Washington, #5 Florida State, #6 Oregon, #7 Texas, and #8 Alabama.
#2 Ohio State is the lone school out of those eight that will not play this coming weekend, after having lost to #3 Michigan on Saturday in a game that decided who would participate in the Big Ten championship. They’ll likely need lots of help to make the Playoff this season.
Here’s a quick look at the five Power Conference championship games that will be played in the coming days, and will have a major impact on who will make the 2024 College Football Playoff:
Pac-12 Conference Championship Game - Friday - 8:00 pm et - ABC
#6 Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Pac-12) vs #4 Washington (12-0, 9-0 Pac-12)
Oregon’s lone loss of the season came at the hands of Washington when they fell on the road by three points back in October. However, the Ducks won all their other games by at least eight points and averaged 45 points per game this season, the second most in the country. A victory on Friday night likely allows the Ducks to jump Washington and make the Playoff.
Washington is hoping for a repeat of their win over Oregon, which would assure them a spot in the Playoff. The Huskies needed a last-second field goal to beat Washington State on Saturday and have not won a game by more than ten points since a 59-32 win over California on September 23.
This will be the final Pac-12 football game in the history of the currently constructed conference, as ten teams will be leaving the conference after this academic year.
Big 12 Conference Championship Game - Saturday - 12:00 pm et - ABC
#20 Oklahoma State (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) vs #7 Texas (11-1, 8-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma State made the Big 12 title game by beating BYU in double-overtime and finished the regular season with three wins. They can only play spoiler to Texas’ Playoff hopes.
Texas finished the regular season with one loss, a four-point defeat to Oklahoma on a neutral site, and has one of the best wins of the season, a victory on the road against Alabama.
Southeastern Conference Championship Game - Saturday - 4:00 pm et - CBS
#1 Georgia (12-0, 8-0 SEC) vs #8 Alabama (11-1, 8-0 SEC)
Georgia did not look convincing in their season finale matchup with six-win Georgia Tech, winning in Atlanta by just eight points. They’ll play in Atlanta once again on Saturday, albeit in a different stadium, with a Playoff spot likely locked up after an undefeated regular season. The Bulldogs are hoping to become the first team since Minnesota in 1934-1936 to win three straight National Championships.
Alabama needed a miracle 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth down to beat Auburn on Saturday on the road and remain undefeated in SEC play. While a loss wouldn’t have affected the Crimson Tide’s ability to play in the conference title game, it would have knocked them out of Playoff contention. However, to make the Playoff, they’ll likely need some help. Alabama will have to beat Georgia, who they haven’t won against since the 2021 SEC Championship, while also hoping that higher-ranked Florida State, Oregon, and Texas suffer defeats. They’ll also have to hope the Committee favors them over a one-loss Ohio State team.
Big Ten Conference Championship Game - Saturday - 8:00 pm et - Fox
#3 Michigan (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) vs #17 Iowa (10-2, 7-2 Big Ten)
Michigan likely secured a Playoff berth with their third consecutive win against foe Ohio State, the first time since 1995-1997 that the Wolverines have beaten the Buckeyes in three straight seasons. However, an upset loss to Iowa could make things tricky for the Committee, and even give Ohio State hope of getting back into the mix.
Iowa won the Big Ten West division despite averaging just 18 points per game. With two losses, the Hawkeyes can only play spoiler on Saturday night in Indianapolis.
Atlantic Coast Conference Championship Game - Saturday - 8:00 pm et - ABC
#10 Louisville (10-2, 7-1 ACC) vs #5 Florida State (12-0, 8-0 ACC)
Louisville likely lost any outside chance they had at making the Playoff with a loss to in-state rival Kentucky on Saturday.
Florida State will likely move up to #4 in the rankings, surpassing Ohio State, after beating Florida on the road on Saturday. If the Seminoles beat Louisville, they’ve likely clinched their spot in the Playoff. But if they lose, or are unconvincing in their win, they’ll have Texas, Oregon, and Alabama all breathing down their neck if they pull off victories in their matchups.
Make sure to check Zander’s Facts’ various pages on social media later this week to find Zander’s picks for these games and more! (linktr.ee/zandersfacts)
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from ESPN - College Football Week 13 highlights: Top plays, games, takeaways
What Zander’s been reading
When Premier League soccer takes the pitch, it seems like the English cities they take place in come to a halt. Despite being the most successful domestic soccer league in the world, The New York Times’ Rory Smith writes that simmering issues facing the league could force the 20 teams comprising it to appoint a Commissioner.
Check out this week’s featured article at The New York Times - The Premier League Needs a Commissioner
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Israel-Hamas Ceasefire: A cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, brokered by the United States and Qatar, has led to several hostages and prisoners being returned to both countries in the last few days. On Saturday, Hamas released 17 hostages taken from Israel during the terrorist group’s October 7 attacks, while Israel returned 39 prisoners to Palestine. In total, Hamas is expected to release 50 hostages and Israel nearly 150 prisoners. The over-one-month-long conflict has resulted in over 1,200 Israelis and 13,000 Palestinians dead.
Rosalynn Carter: Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady and wife of former President Jimmy Carter, passed away last Sunday at her home in Plains, Georgia. Carter, who was 96 years old, was an advocate for social issues throughout her career, focusing on mental health, human rights, and social justice. Carter and her husband founded The Carter Center, a non-profit organization that is committed to human rights, in 1982. Her husband, President Carter, entered hospice care earlier this year and at 99 years old is the longest-living former president.
Argentina Presidential Election: Javier Milei, a right-wing libertarian and member of the Liberty Advances coalition, won the presidential election in Argentina last Sunday. Milei took down Economy Minister Sergio Massa in the election, garnering nearly 56% of the vote in a runoff. Argentina’s economy has been crippled by high inflation coming out of the Covid-19 pandemic. The year-over-year inflation rate in the country topped 140% last month. Milei has proposed cutting government spending, ditching the peso as the nation’s currency, and closing the central bank as ways to heal the economy. Milei has also described climate change as a “lie of socialism,” plans to cut gun control policies, and does not support abortion rights.
OpenAI Drama: Sam Altman, the CEO of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, was removed from the company last Friday, only to be reinstated on Tuesday. OpenAI is the company that operates ChatGPT. Reports say that the OpenAI board was concerned that Altman was not paying enough attention to the potential harm the company’s AI products could pose. Microsoft, who is an investor in OpenAI, announced that they intended to hire Altman and almost all OpenAI employees signed a letter demanding Altman be reinstated with the threat they would join him at Microsoft. Along with reinstating Altman and company President Greg Brockman, who resigned in protest after Altman was fired, the company announced a reorganization of its board.
Kentucky Train Derailment: A CSX train carrying hazardous materials derailed in Kentucky on Wednesday. The train derailed near the town of Livingston, in the central part of the state. Two of the train cars that derailed were carrying molten sulfur, a hazardous substance that likely caused a chemical fire and forced officials to briefly issue evacuations near the site. The cause of the derailment and the fire is still under investigation.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the Sporting Club:
NFL Week 12: Week 12 in the NFL began with three Thanksgiving matchups on Thursday. The Packers upset the Lions in Detroit 29-22, the Cowboys obliterated the Commanders 45-10, and the 49ers beat the Seahawks 31-13. In the league’s first-ever Black Friday game, the Dolphins had no trouble with the Jets, winning 34-13. In today’s action, Saints-Falcons, Steelers-Bengals, and Jaguars-Texans highlight the 1:00 pm et window. At 4:00 pm et, the Broncos host the Browns, the Chiefs take on the Raiders, and the Bills visit the Eagles. At 8:20 pm et, the Ravens travel west to take on the Chargers. Week 12 concludes with Bears-Vikings on Monday night.
College Football Week 13: The final weekend of the College Football regular season featured The Game between #2 Ohio State and #3 Michigan. For the third straight year, Michigan took down its arch-rival, beating Ohio State 30-24. In other games featuring Playoff contenders, #4 Washington used a last-second field goal to beat Washington State 24-21, #8 Alabama survived a wild Iron Bowl against Auburn 27-24, #5 Florida State beat Florida 24-15, and #1 Georgia cleaned up Georgia Tech 31-23. Elsewhere, Kentucky took down #10 Louisville 38-31, #14 LSU beat Texas A&M 42-30, and #20 Oklahoma State survived BYU in two overtimes 40-34. Earlier in the week, #12 Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 17-7, #17 Iowa took down Nebraska 13-10, and #6 Oregon beat up #16 Oregon State 31-7.
NBA In-Season Tournament: The final night of Group Play in the NBA In-Season Tournament will take place on Tuesday. With eight spots available in the Quarterfinals, only two have been clinched so far. The Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Lakers have already won their groups and advanced. Only four teams in the Eastern Conference have been eliminated (Bulls, Pistons, Raptors, Wizards). In the Western Conference, six teams will be fighting for three spots (Kings, Pelicans, Rockets, Suns, Timberwolves, Warriors).
MLS Cup Playoffs: The Eastern Conference Finals are set in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. After taking down the Philadelphia Union in the Eastern Conference Semifinal 1-0, FC Cincinnati will host the Columbus Crew SC, who beat Orlando City SC 2-1 on Saturday night. The two clubs will meet up on Saturday at 6:00 pm et. In the Western Conference, the Semifinals take place later today. At 7:00 pm et, Houston Dynamo host Sporting Kansas City, while LAFC visit the Seattle Sounders at 9:30 pm et. The winners of those two matches will meet in the Western Conference Final on Saturday at 9:30 pm et. All MLS matches air on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Formula 1: The 2023 Formula 1 season concludes later this morning with the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen has already clinched the individual championship this season, but a win in today’s race would be the 34th of his career, moving him into third place on the all-time F1 wins list. Red Bull has also clinched the 2023 Constructors Cup, having over 400 more points than second-place Mercedes. In the penultimate race of the season, F1 raced in Las Vegas for the first time since 1982 last weekend, with Verstappen beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to win his 18th race this season.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts Podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The facts in print return next Sunday, December 3, 2023.
