Ranking the 10 college football conference championship matchups, from C-USA to SEC

Publish date: 2024-06-17

With college football’s 10 conference championships scheduled across Friday and Saturday — and countless storylines, bowl berths and College Football Playoff implications at stake — it was only right to do one last top 10 weekend power ranking for the 2023 season.

(All point spreads come from BetMGM; click here for live odds. All kickoff times are Eastern and Saturday unless otherwise noted. All rankings are via the College Football Playoff.)

10. Conference USA: New Mexico State (10-3) at No. 24 Liberty (12-0), 7 p.m. Friday, CBS Sports Network

A potential window into post-realignment conference championship games here with the Aggies traveling 1,800-plus miles to face the Flames. All credit to Liberty, in just its sixth season of FBS football and first as a member of Conference USA, for achieving its first undefeated regular season in the 50-year history of the program, including a 33-17 home win over New Mexico State back on Sept. 9. The Flames are double-digit favorites at home, but even in victory will likely need a Tulane loss to nab the Group of 5’s New Year’s Six bid. Regardless, a commendable season under first-year head coach Jamey Chadwell.

Line: Liberty -10

Jerry Kill with a cigar while players sing about buying a keg of booze after their TENTH win.

Perfect sport. https://t.co/iKpnHfveei pic.twitter.com/pSPhi3ZgKc

— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) November 26, 2023

9. Sun Belt: Appalachian State (8-4) at Troy (10-2), 4 p.m., ESPN

Props to App State, a perennially successful program that has now appeared in four of the Sun Belt’s six all-time conference title bouts — even if this one was via technicality, winning the East Division despite finishing one game behind ineligible James Madison. The Mountaineers did their part, for what it’s worth, knocking off the Dukes a couple of weeks ago. They’ll have to pull off another upset against a stingy Troy squad that lost to only JMU and Kansas State and has the 11th-ranked defense in FBS at 4.74 yards allowed per play and 10th-ranked scoring defense at 16.7 points allowed per game.

Line: Troy -6.5

8. MAC: Miami (Ohio) (10-2) vs. Toledo (11-1), Noon, ESPN

Toledo is going for back-to-back titles in the only conference to remain unsullied by the scourge of realignment. This should be a fun one. These two teams have the league’s best offenses, with the Rockets averaging 6.6 yards per play and 35.3 points per game while the RedHawks are at 5.83 yards per play and 27.3 points per game. Miami’s only losses are to Toledo and the other Miami. The Rockets haven’t lost since a two-point road defeat to Illinois in the season opener. It will be interesting to see if this is finally the offseason Toledo head coach Jason Candle gets a P5 opportunity.

Line: Toledo -7.5

7. Big Ten: No. 2 Michigan (12-0) vs. No. 16 Iowa (10-2), 8 p.m., Fox

Listen, Iowa deserves its flowers despite arguably the grossest 10-2 regular season in the history of college football. The Hawkeyes found ways to win in a disappointing Big Ten West, and they’ve earned their just reward. Which is likely to result in a doors-blown-off defeat at the hands of Michigan as head coach Jim Harbaugh returns to the sideline. The Wolverines’ win over Ohio State on Saturday was essentially the league championship — no one is expecting this to be much of a contest, which is why it ranks so low on this list. There’s obviously a Playoff spot on the line for Michigan, but this feels like the surest result of the weekend. The biggest question is if the combined total stays under 35.5 points.

Line: Michigan -23.5

6. Mountain West: Boise State (7-5) at UNLV (9-3), 3 p.m., Fox

The computer rankings were forced to render this matchup after San Jose State pulled off a road upset over the Rebels on Saturday to force a three-way tie for first place in the standings … only for the Spartans to still get left out. UNLV will make its first appearance in the Mountain West Championship Game. Boise State, despite firing head coach Andy Avalos and losing quarterback Maddux Madsen in recent weeks, won three in a row to end the regular season and secure a spot in the title game. It’s still surprising to see the Broncos favored on the road over Barry Odom and a Rebels squad that leads the league in points per game.

Line: Boise State -2.5

5. AAC: SMU (10-2) at No. 22 Tulane (11-1), 4 p.m., ABC

This should be the best of the G5 championships and low-key could be one of the best games of the weekend. Both sides are undefeated in league play. Tulane is the highest-ranked G5 program, and a win would send it to a second straight New Year’s Six bowl, one season after the Green Wave’s dramatic comeback over USC. SMU has the best offense (6.55 ypp) and defense (4.5 ypp) in the American, and an upset could be enough to vault the Mustangs ahead of Liberty for that NY6 spot. Tulane’s Willie Fritz has been mentioned for the Houston job and SMU is about to venture to the ACC. Unfortunately for the Mustangs, they will have to make due without stellar starting quarterback Preston Stone, who suffered a broken leg in the regular-season finale against Navy. But the line has been moving toward SMU in recent days.

Line: Tulane -3.5

Your Back-to-Back @American_Conf Coach of the Year: @CoachWEFritz!#RollWave | #NOLABuilt pic.twitter.com/FXL0k7l8w2

— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) November 29, 2023

4. Big 12: No. 18 Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. No. 7 Texas (11-1), Noon, ABC

What a feat by Oklahoma State to reach this point, led by Big 12 offensive player of the year Ollie Gordon II at running back and coach of the year Mike Gundy — who got the nod over Texas’ Steve Sarkisian. Whether that fuels any extra motivation for Sark and the Longhorns probably won’t matter. It seems unlikely the Pokes will have enough to take out a Texas team playing for a potential Playoff berth, though Oklahoma State has been full of surprises, including an upset win over the same Oklahoma team that beat the Horns. But for Texas, this game is a chance to vanquish some of the disappointment that has plagued them over the past decade-plus in the Big 12, and on its way out the door no less.

Line: Texas -14.5

3. ACC: No. 14 Louisville (10-2) vs. No. 4 Florida State (12-0), 8 p.m., ABC

This one is more intriguing than many anticipated a couple of weeks ago due to the season-ending injury to Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis — it’s highly unlikely this line is less than a field goal if he’s healthy. Plus the Cardinals, who have had a wildly impressive and unexpected season in year one under Jeff Brohm, are coming in a bit chastened after the rivalry loss to Kentucky on Saturday. But even with backup Tate Rodemaker behind center for the Seminoles, who gutted out a rivalry victory of their own over Florida, the stakes are clear: win and they are in. The committee isn’t keeping an undefeated P5 out of the CFP, regardless of any key injuries. This should be a great one to finish out championship weekend.

Line: Florida State -2.5

2. Pac-12: No. 5 Oregon (11-1) vs. No. 3 Washington (12-0), 8 p.m. Friday, ABC

A lot of fascinating narrative around this one. Washington is undefeated, controls its Playoff destiny and has the head-to-head win over Oregon, yet the Ducks are heavy favorites and have looked like a better, more complete team since that loss to the Huskies in October. Will an Oregon win be enough to guarantee a Playoff spot? Can Washington hold on for one more Pac-12 win? There’s also the Heisman Trophy race seemingly on the line between quarterbacks Bo Nix and Michael Penix Jr. A fine Friday night aperitif.

Line: Oregon -9.5

1. SEC: No. 1 Georgia (12-0) vs. No. 8 Alabama (11-1), 4 p.m., CBS

I admittedly don’t have a good feel for this one. Georgia, almost quietly (?!?) hunting a three-peat, could very well roll over a Bama team that needed a last-second miracle to take down Auburn. Or this could prove to be another classic prize fight between SEC heavyweights. Neither scenario would surprise me, though the chaos agent in me wants to see the Crimson Tide win and leave a mess for the CFP selection committee to sort through. Either way, with the stakes, the possible implications, the characters involved and one last ride for the SEC on CBS, this game takes the top spot.

Line: Georgia -5.5

(Photo of Carson Beck: Rich von Biberstein / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

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