A Mississippi State fan's guide to conference championship weekend

The Bulldogs' season is over, but there's still plenty of college football action to take in as we prepare for the College Football Playoff.

Mississippi State Bulldogs fans ring their cowbells during the first quarter against the Texas Longhorns at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field. | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Mississippi State football's season is completed and the offseason machinations are in overdrive.

The Bulldogs just wrapped up its signing class with nearly 30 signees and are now preparing for the transfer portal. But before that opens, we have a full weekend of conference championship games. Quite a few will have big impacts on the College Football Playoff.

Here’s the weekend schedule with a few notes along the way.

Friday

Sun Belt: Troy at No. 25 James Madison, 6 p.m., ESPN

Note: If James Madison wins, it could be in the CFP. The winner of the American conference title game will get the Group of 5 automatic berth. But if Duke wins the ACC title game, that could open the door for James Madison to get in with an at-large bid.

CUSA: Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State, 6 p.m., CBSSN

American: No. 24 North Texas at No. 20 Tulane, 7 p.m., ABC

Note: Winner of this game advances to the CFP. The loser gets to start his new job earlier than anticipated. Both North Texas coach Eric Morris (Oklahoma State) and John Sumrall (Florida) have accepted new jobs.

Mountain West: UNLV at Boise State, 7 p.m., FOX

Saturday

Big 12: No. 11 BYU vs. No. 4 Texas Tech, 11 a.m., ABC

Note: Fans of chaos or those wanting to see the selection committee put in an awkward position should root for BYU. Because of where the Cougars are ranked, and who they’re ranked behind, a team like Notre Dame or Alabama could get bumped out of the playoff. If Texas Tech wins, the Big 12 likely gets just one team into the field.

MAC: Miami (OH) at Western Michigan, 11 a.m., ESPN

SEC: No. 3 Georgia at No. 9 Alabama, 3 p.m., ABC

Note: Chaos doesn’t come from an Alabama win. No, chaos comes from a Georgia win because that’d give the Crimson Tide three losses. Would Alabama get punished for losing an extra game? (Probably.)

Big Ten: No. 2 Indiana at No. 2 Ohio State, 7 p.m., FOX

Note: Will anybody be surprised if this is an Ohio State blowout? No? That’s what you’re expecting too? Great we can move on.

ACC: Duke at No. 17 Virginia, 7 p.m., ABC

Note: If Duke wins, the ACC could very well be left out of the CFP. There’s no rule that says the ACC champion must be in the field, only the five highest ranked conference champions. If that happens, watch the ACC throw its support behind the Big Ten’s playoff format proposals that gives the ACC multiple automatic bids.