Let’s put together a cheat sheet. How should Bama fans hope the conference championship games should go?
Ask and you shall receive:
CUSA: Western Kentucky vs. Jacksonville St. — Friday, 7 p.m. ET
AAC: Tulane vs. #24 Army — Friday, 8 p.m. ET
MAC: Ohio vs. Miami (OH) — Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Sun Belt: Marshall vs. Louisiana — Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET
MWC: #20 UNLV vs. #10 Boise St. — Friday, 8 p.m. ET
UNLV vs. Boise State Playoff Implications
Winner of this game would likely earn a trip to the College Football Playoff. If it’s Boise State, it will get a first-round bye. If it’s UNLV, they will almost certainly be the 12th seed. If UNLV loses, it’s out of Playoff contention.
JNME81 thoughts: This one doesn't mention what happens if Boise State lose against UNLV. This is the game to watch.
Big 12: #16 Iowa State vs. #14 Arizona State — Saturday, 12 p.m. ET
Iowa State vs. Arizona State Playoff Implications
The winner of this game will almost certainly make the College Football Playoff as the 4th or 5th-highest ranked conference champion, depending on results of other games — specifically the Mountain West and ACC.
JNME81 thoughts: This really depends on MWC game.
SEC: #5 Georgia vs. #2 Texas — Saturday, 4 p.m. ET
Georgia vs. Texas Playoff Implications
On paper, this looks like the most exciting matchup of the weekend, but it’s actually not all that exciting. Both of these teams are locks to make the College Football Playoff. They’re simply playing for a bye in the first-round and higher seeding.
JNME81 thoughts: This one actually matter: We need Georgia to win the game. We don't want to take a chance with a loss for Georgia.
Big Ten: #3 Penn State vs. #1 Oregon — Saturday, 8 p.m. ET
Penn State vs. Oregon Playoff Implications
Similar to Texas and Georgia, this game doesn’t have much implications on who gets in outside of deciding who gets the Conference Champion first-round bye. Both of these teams are locks to make the College Football Playoff.
JNME81 thoughts: Don't care.
ACC: #17 Clemson vs. #8 SMU — Saturday. 8 p.m. ET
Clemson vs. SMU Playoff Implications
Believe it or not, three-loss Clemson is still live to make the College Football Playoff, even after the loss to South Carolina. All the Tigers have to do is win against SMU and they should be the fifth-highest conference champion. If they do win, that would put SMU on the fringe as the ACC #2, with teams like #11 Alabama, #13 Ole Miss, and #14 South Carolina.
For SMU, the Mustangs just need to win to get a first-round bye in the Playoff.
JNME81 thoughts: We want SMU to win to take away uncertainty for Alabama. If Clemson does win, I don't think SMU will get in playoff based on strength of schedule. Alabama might drop to #12 or #13.
So bottom line We want Boise State to win and SMU to win by 10 points.