Group of Five Championship Games

Rankings from CFP Poll

• American: Tulane @ #24 Army, 12/6, 8PM, ABC
• Conference USA: Western Kentucky @ Jacksonville State, 12/6, 7 PM, CBSSN
• MAC: Ohio vs Miami (OH), 12/7, 12PM, ESPN
• Mountain West: #20 UNLV @ # 10 Boise State, 12/6, 8PM
• Sun Belt: Marshall @ Louisiana, 12/7, 7:30PM, ESPN

Power Four Championship Games

ACC: #17 Clemson vs #8 SMU, @ Charlotte, 12/7, 8PM

Miami fell flat on their face against Syracuse and handed the championship game spot to the Tigers, who had their own deflating loss against South Carolina. Conference newcomer SMU is arguably the hottest team in college football after the chaos of the last few weeks and should lock up the #3 seed with a win.

SEC: #2 Texas vs #5 Georgia, @ Atlanta, 12/7, 4PM

Georgia played with fire against Georgia Tech but is still alive for an automatic playoff berth. Texas has been among the most consistent teams in the SEC but lack a signature top 10 win, which could come this Saturday night in Atlanta.

Big Ten: #1 Oregon vs #3 Penn State, @ Indianapolis, 12/7, 8PM

The Nittany Lions are the benefactors of Ohio State’s baffling loss to Michigan, while the Ducks have begun to roll after a few shaky wins to start the year. Both teams are likely in the CFP regardless of the outcome, but the #1 overall seed is up for grabs in Indianapolis.

Big 12: #16 Iowa State vs #15 Arizona State, @ Arlington (TX) 12/7, 12PM

The chaos of the last few weeks has elevated the Cyclones and Sun Devils to the top of the Big 12, and this matchup is the only power conference championship game not to feature a realignment newcomer. Unlike the Big Ten, the Big 12 champion is only guaranteed the 12 seed (at worst) and will likely be the conference’s sole representative in the playoff.

Final Playoff Prediction

Byes:

1) Oregon (Big Ten Champ)

2) Texas (SEC Champ)

3) SMU (ACC Champ)

4) Boise State (Mountain West Champ)

First Round:

5 Notre Dame vs 12 Arizona State (Big 12 Champ)

6 Penn State vs 11 Alabama

7 Ohio State vs 10 Indiana

8 Tennessee vs 9 Georgia