Now that Brochacho Vargas is no longer completely whiffing on a weekly basis, he’s ready to try his luck with Saturday’s conference championship games. But these are mere appetizers for the CFP feast, which begins in two weeks.

(Rankings are from the CFP):

No. 3 Penn State vs No. 1 Oregon (in Indianapolis)

On paper, these teams are fairly even. Oregon has a great O, but PSU has a great D — No. 7 in both passing and rushing yards allowed. But Senor Vargas will go with the Ducks, the only unbeaten team left in the CFP rankings, maybe mostly for the notion of a West Coast team kicking ass in its first Big Ten season.

Go with Oregon to win and cover the spread.

No. 5 Georgia at No. 2 Texas

Yes, the Bulldogs handled the Longhorns earlier this season, but we are looking at a reversal of fortune for UT in the SEC championship game Saturday. The Longhorns’ defense has been doing well of late, while the Dogs have given up 42, 41 and 31 points in three different games.

Go with Texas to win and cover the spread.

No. 17 Clemson at No. 8 SMU

The upstart Mustangs haven’t won a bowl game in 12 years, while the Tigers and head coach Dabo Swinney have two national championship and two runner-up finishes over the past decade.

But we’ll go with the new kids in town in this ACC championship game. SMU showed toughness in winning at Louisville and Duke.

Go with SMU to win and cover the spread.

No. 16 Iowa State at No. 15 Arizona State

The Sun Devils have been smoking over a five-game win streak, scoring nearly 36 points per game. The Cyclones, meanwhile, have won their past three games by an average of only nine points, and that was after a two-game losing streak.

Go the Devils to keep up the heat and cover the spread in the Big 12 championship game.