Both teams have clinched spots in their conference championship games. This will be the first time the teams have played when each has clinched its outright conference or division title. ... Georgia Tech will play Florida State in next week's Atlantic Coast Conference championship game after Miami self-imposed its second straight bowl ban. ... Georgia is trying to reach 11 wins in the regular season for the first time since 2002. The 2007 Georgia team was the last to win 11 games overall, including the postseason. ... The Bulldogs will play in their fifth SEC championship game in 11 seasons under coach Mark Richt. ... Georgia Tech is averaging 47.7 points in its three straight wins over Maryland, North Carolina and Duke. ... Georgia has won 10 of the last 11 in the series and four of the last five at Sanford Stadium. ... S Bacarri Rambo has 15 career interceptions, one behind the Georgia school record of 15 set by Jake Scott from 1967-68.
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No. 20 Michigan (8-3, 6-1) at No. 4 Ohio State (11-0, 7-0), noon (ABC)
Line: Ohio State by 3 1-2.
Series Record: Michigan leads 58-43-6.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Ohio State can clinch only the sixth unbeaten, untied season in its 123 years of football with a win, while preserving an outside shot at an Associated Press poll championship. The Buckeyes have already won the Big Ten's leaders division, but their season ends on Saturday because of NCAA sanctions. Michigan can still play in the Big Ten title game against Nebraska with a win and a loss by Nebraska at Iowa, and can also get into a better bowl game with a win.
KEY MATCHUP
Ohio State QB Braxton Miller vs. the Michigan defense. The Wolverines are No. 1 in the nation in pass defense, giving up just 152 yards a game — and are 51st against the run at 151 yards a game. Miller looked bewildered at times last week in an overtime win at Wisconsin by the Badgers' defense, which kept him pinched behind the line of scrimmage and always seemed to have someone in his face. A repeat performance and it'll be difficult for the Buckeyes to escape once again with a season-saving win.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Michigan: QB Devin Gardner accounted for six TDs in a rout of Iowa last week. He has come into his own in recent weeks for the injured Denard Robinson (nerve damage to his elbow) who probably can't throw the ball but will see action at several positions. The loss of last year's leading rusher, Fitzgerald Toussaint (broken leg), makes it even more of a Gardner and Robinson production.
Ohio State: LBs Etienne Sabino, Ryan Shazier and Zach Boren have had solid seasons, Boren after switching over from starting FB. It'll be up to them to contain Michigan's dual threats on offense and key a Buckeyes defense which has been at its best when most needed.
FACTS & FIGURES
Ohio State had won the last seven meetings (the 2010 victory was vacated) before Michigan's 40-34 win in Ann Arbor last season — a game the Buckeyes, who finished a woeful 6-7, could easily have won with a late TD. ... Michigan is 18-0 under second-year head coach Brady Hoke when scoring 20 or more points, 1-5 when under 20. The Buckeyes give up 23 points a game. ... Ohio State will honor its 2002 national championship team (14-0) during the game. Jim Tressel, who committed the major NCAA violations which led to this year's bowl ban, will be on hand along with TB Maurice Clarett, who starred for one college season before being ruled ineligible for accepting improper benefits. ... The Wolverines gave the Buckeyes their first loss in 1969, '95 and '96.
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No. 5 Oregon (10-1, 7-1) at No. 16 Oregon State (8-2, 6-2) 3 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
Line: Oregon by 9½.
Series Record: Oregon leads, 59-46-10.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Oregon got derailed on its way to the Pac-12 championship game last week with a 17-14 loss to Stanford. The Ducks, who dropped from the top spot in the rankings with the loss, can still go to the league title game, but they'll have to beat Oregon State and they'll need Pac-12 South winner UCLA to beat Stanford on Saturday at the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles. The Cardinal also have just one conference loss, so if they defeat UCLA, they win the tie-breaker for the North.
KEY MATCHUP
Oregon's offense against Oregon State's defense. Stanford's defense gave the Beavers a blueprint on how to beat the Ducks by playing old-fashioned, physical D. Oregon has the fourth-ranked offense in the country, averaging 548.3 yards a game, and the fifth-best rushing offense with 313.5 yards a game. The Beavers, meanwhile, have the nation's No. 14 rushing defense, allowing opponents only 108.7 yards on the ground per game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Oregon State: WR Markus Wheaton. The senior is averaging nearly 100 receiving yards a game, and, interestingly, beat Oregon speedy running back De'Anthony Thomas in a 100-yard dash this past spring. Wheaton has 205 career receptions, and needs 18 more catches to become the school's career leader. He needs 14 more receiving yards to reach 1,000 for the season.
Oregon: RB Kenjon Barner. The senior, who is averaging 129.6 yards rushing per game, was held to just 66 yards by Stanford. In what could be his last game at Autzen Stadium, Barner needs two rushing touchdowns to tie pal LaMichael James' school single-season mark of 21.
FACTS & FIGURES
The Beavers are recognizing the 50th anniversary of Terry Baker's Heisman Trophy-winning season at Oregon State. Baker led the 1962 Beavers team to a 9-2 record and a victory over Villanova in the Liberty Bowl. The lone Oregon State Heisman winner will be honored in a pre-game ceremony. ... It is the 116th playing of the Civil War rivalry game, the most contested rivalry game in the Pac-12. ... The Beavers have been ranked in the AP Top 25 for a school-record nine weeks. ... It is the fourth time that both teams are ranked for the Civil War, the last was in 2009, when Oregon was No. 7 and Oregon State was No. 13.
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