Chaotic Upsets Turn CFB’s Rivalry Weekend Into Must-See TV

Major upsets in the penultimate weekend of college football’s regular season have created chaos for the Power 4 conferences with bids into the first expanded, 12-team College Football Playoff on the line. 

Now, heading into Rivalry Weekend, the sport’s broadcasters are set to cash in on a plethora of must-win season-ending games on tap. 

The final CFP field, which will be revealed on Dec. 8, will include the five highest-ranked conference champions (with the top four receiving first-round byes) and the next seven highest-ranked teams.

SEC & Big Ten Taking Shape

Georgia clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, where the Bulldogs will face the winner of Saturday night’s Texas-Texas A&M game, despite the Aggies getting upset at Auburn in four overtimes. That telecast, on ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET, should help solidify the network’s place atop the CFB TV ratings rankings this year.

The CFP hopes of Alabama and Ole Miss took big hits as each team suffered their third loss of the season after upsets to unranked conference opponents (Oklahoma and Florida, respectively).

In the Big Ten, Ohio State’s decisive 38–15 victory over Indiana set up a win-and-in scenario against arch-rival Michigan Saturday on Fox, which will be the Buckeyes’ seventh noon ET kickoff of the season. Oregon already clinched the other spot in the conference championship Game. Penn State and Indiana would be next in line if Ohio State were to lose.

Big Chaos In the Big 12

Perhaps the most unpredictable scenario is in the Big 12, where four teams are now tied atop the standings, with five more one game behind. That’s made at least nine teams mathematically still eligible for the conference championship game, which will be the only path for a team for a Big 12 team to make the CFP.

ABC will get Colorado’s must-win matchup against Oklahoma State at noon ET on Black Friday. However, a Hollywood-esque playoff run for coach Deion Sanders and Co. is now less likely following Saturday night’s loss at Kansas.

Arizona State and Iowa State now control their own destiny after the Sun Devils upset BYU and the Cyclones beat Utah. Fox gets both team’s season finale on Saturday: Arizona State-Arizona at 3:30 p.m. and Kansas State-Iowa State at 7:30 p.m.

Sorting Out the Rest

SMU is now, in all likelihood, one game away from the CFP as the Mustangs clinched their spot in the ACC Championship Game. The school’s move to the conference over the summer cost well over $100 million to keep SMU competitive—a decision that looks well worth it. They’ll face Miami if the Hurricanes beat Syracuse on Saturday. Clemson would need Miami to lose in order to make the ACC title game.

Boise State entered the weekend as the highest-ranked Group of 5 school, and beat Wyoming to get to 10–1 on the season as Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty passed 2,000 rushing yards for the season. Notre Dame continued its strong CFP-worthy campaign with a 49–14 win over Army in the latest matchup of the historic rivalry.

Editor’s note: A prior version of this story indicated Clemson would need to beat South Carolina as well as having Miami lose in order to make the ACC title game.