Championship Saturday saw the dogs of Instagram cheering on their teams one final time before bowl season begins.
Championship Saturday saw the unofficial end of the 2019 college football season, as the conference championship games determined who would be placed in which bowls.
While only one canine school was playing, several colleges with vet schools were still in contention, and the dogs of Instagram were cheering on their favorite teams. So, as always, we here at Dog O’Day have to recap how they did.
The action began on Friday, December 6, in the Pac-12 Championship Game presented by 76 Gasoline at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Levi’s Stadium is the home of the San Francisco 49ers, but no word if Zoe the Frenchie visited the players. The No. 13 Oregon Ducks hammered the No. 5 Utah Utes 37-15.
On Championship Saturday itself, December 7, the Dr Pepper Big 12 Championship Game, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (home of the Cowboys), saw the No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners taking on the No. 7 Baylor Bears in a rematch on ABC.
Happily for dogs everywhere like Cujo the German Shepherd, the Sooners won their fifth straight conference title in overtime, 30-23, as Baylor was down to their third-string true freshman quarterback by the end.
The Sun Belt Championship Game was held on the campus of No. 21 Appalachian State in Boone, North Carolina, as the Mountaineers hosted the Lousiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns on ESPN. App State held off a furious comeback to win 45-38; they are now 12-1 on the season.
The Marathon MAC Championship Game saw the Miami of Ohio Redhawks taking on the Central Michigan Chippewas on ESPN2 at Ford Field in Detroit (home of the Lions). The Redhawks held on to claim the victory by a 26-21 score.
The Ryan Conference USA Championship was held on the campus of Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, as the Owls hosted the UAB Blazers on the CBS Sports Network.
Happily for the adopted college team of Bark-Andre Furry and Sir Winston Da Doodle, the Owls crushed UAB 49-6. FAU is now 10-3.
In the American Athletic Conference, No. 20 Cincinnati played in Memphis at the Liberty Bowl for the second week in a row as the No. 17 Tigers hosted the Bearcats in the American Championship Game on ABC.
In their third conference title game in a row, Memphis finally won one in a 29-24 come-from-behind victory.
Uga’s No. 4 Bulldogs tangled with the No. 2 LSU Tigers on CBS in the SEC Championship Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (home base for the Falcons).
Sadly for these Labrador siblings, n a brutal game filled with injuries, LSU emerged victorious by a 37-10 score.
In the Mountain West Championship Game, held at No. 19 Boise State’s home field, the Broncos faced the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors on ESPN.
Kohl the tee-retrieval dog was a happy boy as the Broncos won by a solid margin, 31-10.
In the Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game on ABC, the No. 3 Clemson Tigers faced the No. 23 Virginia Cavaliers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte (home of the football Panthers).
It wasn’t much of a contest, as Clemson destroyed the Virginia defense with well over 600 yards gained and a 62-17 final score.
At Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis (home of the Colts), the Big Ten Championship Game presented by Discover Card saw the No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes facing off with the No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers on Fox.
The Buckeyes stumbled early, but rallied in the second half to earn the 34-21 win.
With Championship Saturday now out of the way, bowl season begins on and wraps up (more or less) with the College Football Playoff semifinals on New Year’s Day.