It's the final week of the college season and it's down to the wire in the BCS.
This Saturday only features 19 games in FBS college football with one no bigger than the SEC championship. No. 2-ranked Alabama meets No. 3 Georgia at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The winner of this game will challenge the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the BCS National Championship game in January.
While the Georgia Bulldogs are entering this matchup as 7-point underdogs, many wonder if they really have a chance at winning. I believe they can, but in order to do so, the Dawgs must find balance on offence.
Without a doubt, Alabama is excellent at defending the run, and it's expected that Alabama head coach Nick Saban and his defence will try to keep Georgia's offence one-dimensional.
Another key for Georgia is to jump out early and take a lead. If we look back to the Alabama and Texas A&M game, the Aggies got out front early in the contest, 20-0.
Alabama may have been the better team for much of this game - however, the lead was too much to come back from and the Crimson Tide lost 29-24.
For Georgia to break out early, quarterback Aaron Murray will need to be on right from the first drive of the game. Georgia will need to control the line of scrimmage and allow Murray time to throw the ball downfield.
Lastly, Georgia's defence is going to have to play errorless. The front 7 will need to penetrate the Bama offensive line, and pretty much be in QB AJ McCarron's face all afternoon in hope of creating negative yardage plays.
This should be a great game between two conference rivals played on "neutral" ground in Atlanta. Kickoff is Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
Another notable game this weekend is the PAC 12 championship. No. 8 Stanford is hosting No. 16 UCLA. Look for the favoured Stanford team to do a repeat of last weekend and beat UCLA again, clinching a spot in the Rose Bowl.
Also, Kansas State (6) is at home against Texas (18). With a Kansas State victory, the Wildcats clinch the BIG 12 and go to the Fiesta Bowl - likely to play Oregon as an At-Large pick.
The No. 11 Oklahoma Sooners travel down to Fort Worth to play Texas Christian. If Oklahoma can hold off the Horned Frogs, it should be enough for them to qualify as an At-Large opponent in the Sugar Bowl and play SEC replacement team Florida (No. 4).
In the BIG 10, Wisconsin, at 7-5 overall, will win the Leaders Division and make it the championship as undefeated Ohio State, and 8-4 Penn State are both under NCAA suspension. Wisconsin will meet the winner of the Legends Division - No. 12 Nebraska. This game is also on "neutral" ground at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Lastly, we go to Charlotte for the ACC championship game between the 10-2 Florida State Seminoles (No. 13) and the 6-6 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Look for Nebraska and Florida State to come out on top in these matchups, clinching berths in their respective major bowls - the Rose for Nebraska and the Orange for Florida State.
This puts a wrap on the 2012 regular FBS college football season - the exception being the annual Army-versus-Navy game next weekend.
Grant Stefance is a Kelowna resident and life-long sports fan. Follow him on twitter at: @grant_stefance, or by email at: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .