The first Saturday in December, traditionally, is when college football and clarity meet head-on.  Conference championships are won, the bowl picture is cleared up and, more often than not, all hell breaks loose.  Today shapes up as yet another one of those days.  Your biggest games:

Missouri vs. Oklahoma, Big 12 Championship
Tennessee vs. LSU, SEC Championship
USC vs. UCLA, Rose Bowl berth on the line

For Missouri, it’s real simple: Win, and they’re off to New Orleans for the BCS Championship game.  Lose, and a possible at-large BCS invitation may still be in the cards.  In their earlier meeting this season, Oklahoma overtook Missouri in the 4th quarter with a large helping of Tigers implosion.  This time around, I’m going with Missouri.    Chase Daniel is on fire and they have shown when they’re on the big stage, they rise to the occasion . . . ok, they’ve not been on that Big Stage that often but in their one big test versus Kansas, they were exceptional.   Additionally, Oklahoma’s defense was thoroughly exposed by Texas Tech and I don’t expect anything different today.

In Atlanta, it is the battle everyone has been waiting for . . . well, not really.  LSU — the greatest team this side of the New England Patriots until they lost at Kentucky but then became the greatest team this side of the New England Patriots again . . . until they lost at home in three overtimes to Arkansas — will play the greatest team no one believes in, Tennessee.  A few weeks ago,  Phillip Fulmer was roasted right here in the lovely, coastal community of Blog Harbor.  Now, he once again has gotten the last laugh on experts, pundits, broadcasters and writers coast-to-coast as attempts to win his third SEC Championship.

When the Vols were 1-2, I figured them no better than a five-win season.  Of course, no sooner do I even allow a single thought to enter my head that suggests the Vols are done and Fulmer is on his way out of Knoxville, the team steps up, strange things start happening and you’re left with, naturally, a 9-3 Vols team on an emotional high, playing excellent football . . . in spite of the fact they’re giving up about 14,000 yards of offense per game.  So how to call this game?  Several hours before kick-off, Les Miles, acting as though he was the entire cast of 12 Angry Men, said in a terse, pre-game press conference he was not leaving LSU.  The inference, while citing erroneous reporting by ESPN, was that he wasn’t interested in Michigan though never mentioning the Wolverines by name.  When you throw that little gem into the mix, my opinion hasn’t changed: I think Fulmer and the Vols continue their improbable march and take down LSU.  There’s really nothing on paper to suggest such an insane prediction except this: Whatever Fulmer and his staff have done, it’s worked for weeks on end.  And Les Miles . . . the guy tries so hard to be tough, I’ve discovered there are few things I enjoy more than watching him on the sidelines when the Tigers lose.  And lose, they will.

Finally, USC vs. UCLA.  This game is really very simple: UCLA destroyed SC’s season last year with their 13-9 win in the Rose Bowl.  The Bruins have no shot.  At all.   Forget about it.  SC is going to roll over the Bruins in the Coliseum today no different than two years ago when the Trojans nearly dropped 70 on them.  Look for UCLA to lose the game and their head coach, Karl Dorrell, as well.