College Football Conference Championship Games Set

Thanksgiving brought an end to the college football regular season (except for the Army-Navy game), and that means that December 6th-7th will feature conference championship games. These will will affect seedings for the now 12 team College Football Playoff, or in some cases, if a team makes the field at all. Here’s a look at those conference championships that will have a bearing on the CFB:

Mountain West: Boise State (11-1) vs. UNLV (10-2) in Boise December 6th. The Broncos beat UNLV 29-24 earlier this season, and their only loss was at Oregon in September. Boise State is will be  in the field somewhere, even if they lose to the Rebels.

Big 12: Iowa State (10-2) vs Arizona State (10-2) in Arlington, Texas December 7th. These two did not meet during the regular season. The winner gets a playoff berth, the loser will hope some other teams lose their games, but they’ll be a longshot anyway.

SEC: Georgia (10-2) vs. Texas (11-1) in Atlanta December 7th. The defending National Champion Bulldogs beat the Longhorns 30-15 on October 19th. The Bulldogs’ losses were to then #4 Alabama back in September and then #16 Mississippi 28-10 in November. They’ll probably both make the CFB field with one getting a first round bye. Georgia had an interesting final game of the regular season against traditional non conference opponent Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs won 44-42 in a game that went to eight overtimes. That’s the second most overtimes in FBS history; Illinois beat Penn State 20-18 in nine overtimes on October 23rd, 2021.

ACC: Clemson (9-3) vs. SMU (11-1) in Charlotte December 7th. The two did not meet during the regular season. SMU will be in the field  whether it wins or loses; Clemson needs a win, but is still a longshot.

Big 10: Oregon (12-0) vs. Penn State (11-1) in Indianapolis December 7th. The two did not meet in the regular season. Both will make the CFP field; a win by Oregon, the last remaining undefeated team, would mean the top seed in the playoffs.

Other teams that will be in the field include Indiana (11-1), Notre Dame (11-1), Tennessee (10-2), and Ohio State (10-2). Some others that may make it depending on how the conference championships go include South Carolina (9-3), Alabama (9-3), Miami (10-2), and Mississippi (9-3).