One weekend remains before the College Football Playoff field is unveiled.
The College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six bowls will be set on Sunday afternoon.
There may not be a ton of movement in the top four, but it will be interesting to see what 12 teams end up making the New Year’s Six field. Many of the conference championship games, Power 5 and even Group of 5, have major significance with regards to who will be playing who in what high-profile holiday bowl game at the end of this one-of-a-kind college football season.
College football top 25 schedule for Week 16
Friday, Dec. 18 (8:00 p.m. ET)
- Pac-12 Championship Game: Oregon Ducks (3-2) at No. 13 USC Trojans (5-0), (Los Angeles, CA) – FOX
Saturday, Dec. 19 (12:00 p.m. ET)
- Big Ten Championship Game: No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats (6-1) vs. No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes (5-0), (Indianapolis, IN) – FOX
- No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (7-1) at Tennessee Volunteers (3-6), (Knoxville, TN) – ESPN
- Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship: No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners (7-2) vs. No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones (8-2), (Arlington, TX) – ABC
Saturday, Dec. 19 (3:30 p.m. ET)
- Sun Belt Conference Championship Game: No. 19 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9-1) at No. 12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-0), (Conway, SC) – ESPN
Saturday, Dec. 19 (4:00 p.m. ET)
- ACC Championship Game: No. 3 Clemson Tigers (9-1) vs. No. 2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-0), (Charlotte, NC) – ABC
Saturday, Dec. 19 (4:15 p.m. ET)
- Mountain West Championship Game: Boise State Broncos (5-1) at No. 24 San Jose State Spartans (6-0), (Las Vegas, NV) – FOX
Saturday, Dec. 19 (8:00 p.m. ET)
- SEC Championship Game: No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (10-0) vs. No. 7 Florida Gators (8-2), (Atlanta, GA) – CBS
- American Athletic Conference Championship Game: No. 23 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-1) at No. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats (8-0), (Cincinnati, OH) – ABC
On Friday night, look for the undefeated No. 13 USC Trojans to stay perfect against their Pac-12 Championship Game matchup vs. the unranked Oregon Ducks. Had the Washington Huskies been healthy enough to field a full team, they would be the ones playing the top-15 Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Friday night. USC will win and get to the Fiesta Bowl because of it.
In the early-afternoon window on Saturday, look for the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes to get past the No. 14 Northwestern Wildcats in the Big Ten Championship Game, the No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies to stomp the unranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville and for the No. 10 Oklahoma Sooners to spoil the No. 6 Iowa State Cyclones’ shot at getting to the Cotton Bowl Classic in the Big 12 title.
During the mid-afternoon, the No. 12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers will keep their New Year’s Six bowl hopes alive with a win over the No. 19 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. The No. 24 San Jose State Spartans will stay perfect and beat the unranked Boise State Broncos in Las Vegas to win the Mountain West Conference Championship. However, all eyes will be on the game in Charlotte.
In a high-profile matchup between No. 2 and No. 3, the one-loss Clemson Tigers will knock off the previously unbeaten Notre Dame Fighting Irish to win the ACC Championship Game for the sixth year in a row. Since this would be Notre Dame’s only loss on the season, both the Tigers and the Irish will make the four-team playoff field when it is all said and done on late Sunday morning.
During the night games, the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide will maintain the top overall seed by possibly knocking the No. 7 Florida Gators out of New Year’s Six bowl contention in the SEC Championship. By defeating the No. 23 Tulsa Golden Hurricane at home in the AAC Championship Game, the No. 9 Cincinnati Bearcats will end up winning the Group of 5 to make the New Year’s Six.
What games are you the most excited about this weekend in the college football landscape?
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