Carla and Crappy Show: The 2023 Champinchip Week Edition

And somehow … we’re at Championship Week. Erm, ahem. Excuse us. That’s Champinchip Week. To celebrate, the gang’s all here as AJ – the nation’s foremost expert in Group of Five football – joins Carla and Crappy live to break down all 10 conference title games happening this weekend.

But before we get into the fun, we discuss some not-so-fun stuff, as Middle Tennessee head coach Rick Stockstill, a guest this past summer on this very podcast, was relieved of his duties after 18 years at the helm several hours before this recording. Yes, we know that coaching firings happen all the time, but this one feels a bit more personal. Best wishes to you, coach.

(Speaking of which, it is worth noting that as we recorded on Monday night, all of our rankings are way off. We’re very aware of this. Carry on.)

We also take some time to bask in what was an exceptional Rivalry Week last weekend. Carla may have scared her family during 4th and 31 (although her reaction wasn’t nearly as funny as Herbstreit’s and Fowler’s). AJ had his weekend bookended by two exceptional games – Nebraska/Iowa on Friday afternoon and Colorado State/Hawaii early Sunday morning. And Crappy? Well, he has thoughts about The Game, and they involve John Cooper. (Hint: That’s not a good thing.)

Next up? Our Heisman picks. We all have three QBs in our finalists lists … but beyond that, some interesting opinions are offered.

And then … finally … the 10 games that matter this weekend. And we discuss ALL of them. Buckle up.

Conference USA: New Mexico State at No. 25 Liberty (7 ET Friday, CBSSN): One of these teams is undefeated. The other beat Auburn in Jordan Hare. Spoiler alert: We’re all rooting for the Aggies.

Pac-12: No. 6 Oregon vs. No. 4 Washington (8 ET Friday, ABC): It’s the final (at least for now) Pac-12 title game, and it likely will be the best game of the weekend. Heck, it’s a de facto CFP play-in game.

Big 12: No. 20 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Texas (Noon ET, ABC): Oh, hey. Remember Texas? If the Horns win, they might just make the playoff. 

MAC: Miami vs. Toledo (Noon ET, ESPN): The Rockets are good-good … and would love to close out a spectacular season with another title.

Mountain West: Boise State vs. UNLV (3 ET, FOX): AJ saw into the future for this matchup. We all think the Rebs are the team to beat.

American: SMU at No. 23 Tulane (4 ET, ABC): Tulane’s only loss is to Ole Miss. SMU will be missing its QB.

Sun Belt: Appalachian State at Troy (4 ET, ESPN): Troy is the pick here … but it’s Appy State. So who knows?

SEC: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 8 Alabama (4 ET, CBS): Bama has improved this season. Enough to beat the top Dawgs? We’ll see.

ACC: No. 10 Louisville vs. No. 5 Florida State (8 ET, ABC): Let’s call this the Noles Conundrum: If Florida State wins, are they CFP material? Or can the Cards win this game and put all speculation to bed?

B1G: No. 3 Michigan vs. No. 17 Iowa (8 ET, FOX): Crappy proposes an interesting outcome in this snoozefest. 

And although the game isn’t this weekend, we also make our annual Army vs. Navy (3 ET Dec. 9, CBS) picks.

We conclude our conversation with each of our College Football Playoff selections, and AJ offers us a chaos scenario (with, yes, you guessed it, a spreadsheet!) that likely will never happen … but boy, would we have some fun if it did.

And with that … that’s a wrap on another regular season. We’ll be off next week, but be on the lookout in mid-December for our 10th* annual Bowlapalooza, featuring a cast of characters … and an edible mascot? How’s that for a tease? Enjoy the title games, yinz!

* Technically, Bowlapalooza began on the CnCShow in 2013, making this the 11th annual show. But the 2020 edition didn’t feature a cast of characters due to well, you know, everything, so we’re celebrating this year like it’s the 10th anniversary. Just because. Either way, you’re not going to want to miss it.