College football today: Clinching scenarios to watch in Rivalry Week

Rivalry Week is here, and what happens on the field will have a huge influence on Championship Weekend and College Football Playoff selection.

What you need to know as college football sorts out its conference championship picture coming into the 2024 season finale. / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nothing defines college football quite like Rivalry Week, and the 2024 regular season finale means even more this year with the expansion of the College Football Playoff, as auto-bid and at-large contenders in the playoff picture hope to use their last game as a jumping-off point to Championship Weekend, and for the lucky dozen, playoff selection and beyond.

Where do things stand in the conference championship picture as we move into the weekend’s final regular season games?

Here’s what you need to know regarding what schools have clinched and who can do so across the Power Four and the Group of Five conferences entering Week 14.

ACC

Who’s in: SMU has clinched one of the spots in the ACC Championship Game.

Need to know: Miami can clinch the other spot in that game provided it beats Syracuse this weekend, while Clemson needs the Hurricanes to lose to the Orange.

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Big Ten

Who’s in: Oregon will play for the Big Ten title in its debut season in the conference.

Need to know: Ohio State clinches a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game if it beats Michigan, or if Penn State and Indian both lose.

But: Penn State gets in by beating Maryland and Ohio State losing to Michigan.

And: Indiana makes it with a win over Purdue and losses by both Ohio State and Penn State.

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Big 12

Who’s in: Nobody, yet.

Need to know: The simple explanation is that the two teams that finish 7-2 in conference play will advance to the Big 12 Championship Game. If there’s a four-way tie atop the standings, as there is entering this week, we’ll see Arizona State vs. Iowa State.

Otherwise? Here’s what you need to know about the Big 12 title chase entering Week 14.

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SEC

Who’s in: Georgia has locked up one berth in the SEC Championship Game.

Need to know: The winner of the hugely-anticipated Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry game will face the Bulldogs in Atlanta with a shot at a likely first-round bye in the College Football Playoff for whoever wins the SEC crown.

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Conference USA

Who’s in: Jacksonville State has clinched and will host the CUSA Championship Game.

Need to know: Liberty gets in by beating Sam Houston; Western Kentucky clinches by beating Jacksonville State combined with a Liberty loss; Sam Houston has to beat Liberty and have Western Kentucky lose to Jacksonville State.

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MAC

Who’s in: Nobody, yet.

Need to know: Miami clinches by beating Bowling Green, or with a loss and other losses by Ohio and Buffalo.

Or: Bowling Green gets in by beating Miami or with a loss and losses by Buffalo and Ohio, with another tiebreaker scenario where Bowling Green makes it with a loss combined with Ball State beating Ohio and Central Michigan beating Northern Illinois.

And: Ohio clinches by beating Ball State or with a loss and a spectacle of other tiebreaker scenarios that involve every other team in the league.

On the other hand: Buffalo can get in if Ohio loses to Ball State, Miami beats Bowling Green, Eastern Michigan beats Western Michigan, and NIU beats Central Michigan.

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Mountain West

Who’s in: Boise State has clinched a spot in the Mountain West Championship Game, and is the consensus Group of Five favorite in the College Football Playoff, entering this week as the projected No. 4 seed in the new bracket with a potential first-round bye.

Need to know: Colorado State advances by beating Utah State and if UNLV loses to Nevada, whereas UNLV will face the Broncos if it wins this week.

But: If both Colorado State and UNLV win, the higher-ranked team in the College Football Playoff rankings will face the Broncos.

And: If both lose, a computer metric decides who, between Colorado State and UNLV, will play Boise State.

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Sun Belt

Who’s in: Nobody, yet.

Need to know: Marshall clinches the East Division by beating James Madison or Georgia Southern losing to Appalachian State.

And: Georgia Southern clinches the East Division, and thus a spot for the Sun Belt title, by beating Appalachian State and Marshall losing to James Madison.

But: Louisiana-Lafayette can clinch the West Division by beating UL-Monroe or by South Alabama losing to Texas State.

Also: South Alabama gets in by beating Texas State and Louisiana-Lafayette losing to UL-Monroe.

Don’t forget: If there’s a three-way tie between Louisiana-Lafayette, South Alabama, and Arkansas State, then South Alabama wins the tiebreaker.

Finally: Arkansas State can share its division title, but can’t play in the Sun Belt title game.

In short: Marshall and Louisiana-Lafayette are in control, and Marshall gets in by beating James Madison while Louisiana-Lafayette clinches by beating UL-Monroe.

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