College Football Conference Championship Game Scenarios

Matt Newton | 3 Hours Ago

Brett Patzke-Imagn Images

We've reached the end of the college football regular season and Championship Week is right around the corner. With only one of the nine conferences having determined their matchup for their conference championship game, let's go one by one through the conferences and break down the various scenarios for each college football conference championship in the final week of the regular season.

American Athletic Conference (AAC) Championship Game Scenarios

This is the lone conference championship game that has been finalized prior to the final week of the regular season. Tulane will take on Army for the AAC Championship.

Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Championship Game Scenarios

• SMU has clinched a spot in the ACC title game.
• Miami will clinch a berth in the ACC Championship Game with a win over Syracuse.
• Clemson gets in if Miami loses to Syracuse.

Big Ten Championship Game Scenarios

• Oregon has clinched a spot in the Big Ten title game
• Ohio State will clinch a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game with a win over Michigan OR with losses by Penn State and Indiana
• Penn State gets in with a win over Maryland AND an Ohio State loss
• Indiana gets in with a win over Purdue AND losses by Ohio State and Penn State

Big 12 Championsip Game Scenarios

• There are technically nine teams still in contention for the Big 12 Championship Game, as there are four teams with two conference losses (Arizona State, BYU, Iowa State, Colorado) and five teams with three losses (Baylor, Kansas State, TCU, Texas Tech, West Virginia)
• Arizona State and Iowa State control their own destiny. Both teams will clinch Championship Game berths with victories in their respective final games.
• If there are two teams tied at 7-2 after Saturday, those two teams will qualify for the Big 12 Championship Game
• If there is a four-team tie at 7-2, then Arizona State and Iowa State will play in the Big 12 Championship Game.
• If there is a three-team tie at 7-2, then there are six different scenarios for the Big 12 Championship depending on the outcomes of various games. Read more on those scenarios here: Big 12 Football Championship Tiebreakers Central
• There are some additional tiebreakers if at least three of the four 6-2 teams lose this weekend, because then any of the 5-3 teams who win this weekend also have a chance.

SEC Championship Game Scenarios

• Georgia has clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game.
• Georgia's opponent in the SEC Championship Game will be the winner of the Texas vs. Texas A&M game.

Conference USA Championship Game Scenarios

• Jacksonville State has clinched a spot in the Conference USA Championship Game and will host the title game.
• Jacksonville State's opponent in the title game could be Liberty, Western Kentucky, or Sam Houston.
• Liberty gets in with a win over Sam Houston.
• Western Kentucky gets in with a win over Jacksonville State AND a Liberty loss.
• Sam Houston gets in with a win over Liberty AND a Jacksonville State win over Western Kentucky.

Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championship Game Scenarios

• Four teams remain in contention for the MAC Championship Game: Miami (Ohio), Bowling Green, Ohio, Buffalo
• Miami is in with a win over Bowling Green OR with a loss AND losses by Ohio and Buffalo.
• Bowling Green is in with a win over Miami OR with a loss AND losses by Buffalo and Ohio. There is an additional tiebreaking scenario in which Bowling Green would make it in with a loss, a Ball State win over Ohio, and a Central Michigan win over Northern Illinois.
• Ohio is in with a win over Ball State OR with a loss AND a series of complicated tiebreaker scenarios involving every other team in the conference.
• Buffalo can only get in if Ohio loses to Ball State, Miami beats Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan beats Western Michigan, and Northern Illinois beats Central Michigan.

Mountain West Conference Championship Game Scenarios

• Boise State has clinched a spot in the Mountain West title game
• UNLV and Colorado State are in contention for the second spot in the title game, but they have not and will not play each other this season.
• If both UNLV and Colorado State win or lose their final games, then the tiebreaker is College Football Playoff ranking (or another metric). That gives the edge to UNLV, who is currently ranked No. 22 in the College Football Playoff, while Colorado State is unranked.

Sun Belt Conference Championship Game Scenarios

• This is the only conference that still uses divisions.
• Starting with the East, Marshall clinches a spot in the Sun Belt title game with a win over JMU OR a loss by Georgia Southern to Appalachian State. Georgia Southern clinches a spot with a win over App State AND a Marshall loss to JMU.
• Louisiana-Lafayette has a one-game lead over Arkansas State and South Alabama in the West division and can clinch a spot in the title game with a win over Louisiana Monroe OR with a loss by South Alabama to Texas State.
• South Alabama clinches with a win AND a loss by Louisiana.
• In the event of a three-way tie between Louisiana, South Alabama, and Arkansas State, South Alabama wins the tiebreaker.
• Arkansas State can share the division title, but cannot make it to the Sun Belt Championship Game.

There used to be 10 conferences. The PAC-12 (or Pac-2) held its informal championship game last week with Oregon State prevailing over Washington State 41-38.