The final week of the regular season is here for every conference except the Sun Belt, which is the only league that will not be staging a championship game next week. With that in mind, let's take a look at the conference races as the battle for spots in those championship games conclude.
All times Eastern
ACC (Charlotte, North Carolina, Dec. 2, 8 p.m.)
Complete. Clemson vs. Miami
American Athletic Conference (Host TBD, Dec. 2, Noon)
Memphis has clinched the West Division title and a spot in the championship game. UCF and USF will play this week to decide the East Division winner. If UCF wins, it will host the title game. If USF and Memphis both win, Memphis will host by virtue of being the higher ranked team in the College Football Playoff rankings entering the game. If USF wins and Memphis loses, the host will be decided by the average of selected computer rankings. If that is still a tie, USF wins the next tiebreaker and would host due to a better record against common conference opponents.
Big 12 (Arlington, Texas, Dec. 2, 12:30 p.m.)
The Big 12 is the only conference championship game that rematches the league's top two teams. Oklahoma has already clinched a place in the Big 12 championship. TCU will also clinch with a win this Saturday over Baylor. If the Horned Frogs lose, there could be as many as five teams tied for second place. Iowa State, Oklahoma State, Texas and West Virginia also have three conference losses, and all could win this week.
TCU would win any tiebreaker for the second spot in the championship game except …
- A two-team tie with Iowa State (ISU wins on head-to-head).
- Any three-team tie with Iowa State involved. If West Virginia is the third team, the Mountaineers win the tiebreaker (win over Oklahoma, head-to-head with Iowa State). Iowa State wins in any other scenario (win over Oklahoma).
Big Ten (Indianapolis, Indiana, Dec. 2, 8 p.m.)
Complete. Ohio State vs. Wisconsin
Conference USA (Dec. 2, noon)
Complete. North Texas at Florida Atlantic
Mid-American (Detroit, Michigan, December 2, noon)
Akron's wins over Ohio last week and Kent State on Tuesday night have given the Zips the East division championship and a spot in the MAC title game. The win over Ohio is the tiebreaker with the Bobcats.
The West Division is down to two teams. Toledo simply needs to beat Western Michigan on Friday to clinch a matchup with Akron. If the Rockets fail, Northern Illinois can grab the division title with a win at Central Michigan, also on Friday. Losses by both Toledo and NIU would create a three-way tie for the division title with CMU joining the party, but Toledo would advance to the title game because of victories over both the Huskies and Chippewas.
Mountain West (Host TBD, Dec. 2, 7:45 p.m.)
Boise State and Fresno State have each clinched a spot in the championship game, but the host of that game has not been determined. They play each other Saturday in Fresno. If Boise State wins, it will host the championship game because it is the higher rated team in the CFP rankings entering the game. If Fresno wins, the determination will be made by an average of selected computer rankings, even though the Bulldogs will have a better conference record and head-to-head result. The head-to-head result only comes into play if the computer rankings are tied.
Pac-12 (Santa Clara, California, Dec. 1, 8 p.m.)
USC has won the South division. Stanford has clinched a tie for the North division with the winner of the Apple Cup between Washington and Washington State. The Cardinal would win a head-to-head tiebreaker with the Huskies, but the Cougars own the head-to-head tiebreaker with Stanford. Washington is eliminated from contention.
SEC (Atlanta, Georgia, Dec. 2, 4 p.m.)
This one is simple. Georgia will face the winner of Saturday's Iron Bowl between Alabama and Auburn.