Championship weekend has finally arrived.

All major conferences will have their championship games this weekend, including some with serious College Football Playoff implications.

In the Big Ten Championship, No. 4 Ohio State takes on No. 14 Northwestern and needs a win to secure a playoff spot.

No. 3 Clemson will meet No. 2 Notre Dame for a rematch after an overtime thriller the first time they met.

With Texas A&M lingering just behind those teams in the rankings at No. 5, both Clemson and Notre Dame are in must-win spots this weekend.

Finally, Alabama looks to lock up the No. 1 seed in an SEC Championship game that lost some lustre after the now infamous "shoe toss" that essentially eliminated No. 7 Florida from the playoffs last weekend.

Mac Jones and Kyle Trask are the two Heisman Trophy favourites, which adds some intrigue to this game as well.

Here are my picks in the Championship Weekend edition of Simmons vs. The Spread.

CONFERENCE USA CHAMPIONSHIP

UAB BLAZERS at MARSHALL THUNDERING HERD

SPREAD: Marshall -5

TOTAL: 42

Two weeks ago, Marshall looked like they were going to sleepwalk to an undefeated regular season as they took on Rice at home as a 22-point favourite.  However, they laid an absolute egg in that game and were shut out 20-0. After a great freshman year, Grant Wells threw five interceptions in that loss. Still, I think that game was an anomaly. UAB is a solid team, but Marshall’s other games were more representative of this team than the Rice game no-show. Marshall also plays great defence, allowing an FBS-best 11.4 points per game. They also give up just 73 yards per game on the ground, and should slow down Spencer Brown and UAB’s rushing attack if he’s back this week after being a late scratch last weekend. I think The Herd gets it done here and covers on Friday night.

THE PICK: Marshall -5

 

SUN BELT CHAMPIONSHIP

(19) LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE RAGIN’ CAJUNS at (12) COASTAL CAROLINA CHANTICLEERS

SPREAD: Coastal Carolina -3.5

TOTAL:  55

After the big win over BYU two weeks ago, Coastal was able to survive a scare last week in a letdown spot against Troy with some late-game heroics from star quarterback Grayson McCall. McCall has been a revelation for the Chanticleers in this historic season for the program. Going into this season, I don’t think anybody would have predicted that both teams in the Sun Belt Championship would be ranked and that is a testament to the seasons for both these teams. A wild-card aspect with the Ragin’ Cajuns will be whether they have figured out their long snapping situation after that terrible performance against Appalachian State in their last game in which they had five botched snaps. In their first meeting, Coastal won on a late field goal on the road. If this defence can limit Levi Lewis’ big plays on the ground, I think they can cover this number.

THE PICK: Coastal Carolina -3.5

 

ACC CHAMPIONSHIP

(3) CLEMSON TIGERS at (2) NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH

SPREAD: Clemson -10

TOTAL: 60.5

When these two teams met in November, Notre Dame pulled off the win in a 47-40 overtime thriller that was arguably the game of the season so far. However, Clemson was missing future No. 1 NFL pick Trevor Lawrence in that contest. While D.J. Uiagalelei filled in admirably, this game is a different situation as a must-win for Clemson and with Lawrence back, while Notre Dame may have already locked up a playoff spot. I don’t foresee Notre Dame scoring over 40 points again as Clemson has some key defensive players back in this game. This spread also stinks to me. Notre Dame won the first meeting and by having Clemson favoured by 10 here it seems like Vegas is begging the public to bet Notre Dame. I will go the other way here and take Clemson.

THE PICK: Clemson -10

 

SEC CHAMPIONSHIP

(7) FLORIDA GATORS at (1) ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

SPREAD: Alabama -17

TOTAL: 74.5

Florida’s spirits have to be crushed after last week, losing at home to LSU as a 24-point favourite. If they had won that game, this week’s SEC Championship would essentially be a play-in game for the College Football Playoffs. Instead, because of Marco Wilson’s shoe toss and a 57-yard field goal by LSU, they are now essentially playing for nothing this week against the most explosive team in the country. Devonta Smith, who you could easily make a case for winning the Heisman, has been incredible this season for the Tide. The likely winner however is his quarterback Mac Jones, which illustrates the riches of this Alabama offence. The Tide has also made strides this season on the defensive side of the football. Through the first five games of the season, Alabama was giving up 26.4 points per game. Over their past five games, the Tide has lowered that number down to 7.2 points per game. If you’ve tailed Alabama this season, you’ve done well as Nick Saban’s side is 8-2 against the spread this season. I think they add another cover to that record this weekend.

THE PICK: Alabama -17

 

MISSOURI TIGERS at MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS

SPREAD: Missouri -1

TOTAL: 49.5

Both of these teams are coming off disappointing double-digits losses last week, but this line, frankly, makes no sense to me. Missouri has been a better team than Mississippi State all year and if you asked me to predict this line for Missouri heading into this week, I would have probably said somewhere between -5.5 and -6.5. Mississippi State looked promising in their first game, but the season has been an absolute disaster for them ever since. This line might seem like a trap, but if it is I will go down swinging on it.

THE PICK:  Missouri -1

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