Nine FBS Conferences Still Competing for Playoff Berths as Season Nears End
Standings in the ACC, Big 12, SEC, and other leagues show tight races for championship game spots ahead of the final stretch.
By Jack Weber ·
Nine Football Bowl Subdivision conferences still have undecided championship races as the regular season enters its final weeks. The ACC, American Athletic, Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, Pac-12, and Sun Belt all have at least two teams separated by one or two games. Each league’s title game winner earns a guaranteed spot in the College Football Playoff if the field expands to 24 teams next season.
In the ACC, Miami holds a 6-0 conference record after dropping a game to independent Notre Dame. Wake Forest sits second at 5-1, followed by Louisville and SMU at 5-2. Clemson, which plays only eight conference games this year, stands at 4-2. Wake Forest can extend its lead over SMU when the teams meet in Dallas on Saturday. The league now uses an analytics ranking as a secondary tiebreaker, a change made after the 2025 season.
North Texas leads the American Athletic Conference at 5-0 after Texas-San Antonio lost to Florida Atlantic on Thursday. Memphis is tied for second at 4-1. North Texas hosts Texas-San Antonio on Nov. 14, while Memphis has no conference games scheduled against either rival. The committee ranking may influence tiebreakers in this league.
Utah commands a 6-0 lead in the Big 12, one game ahead of Texas Tech. The Red Raiders fell to 5-1 after a 53-48 loss to West Virginia. Six other teams, including Arizona, BYU, Houston, Baylor, and Oklahoma State, sit at 4-2. Texas Tech plays on the road at Oklahoma State and Baylor in the coming weeks. Utah is the betting favorite for the conference title.
The Big Ten race is complicated by quarterback injuries. UCLA leads at 6-0, followed by Indiana at 5-1. Seven teams have two conference losses. Southern California, also 4-2, holds a win over Ohio State and faces Indiana this week. A win over the Trojans would put Indiana in strong position for the title game.
Liberty and Jacksonville State both sit at 5-0 in Conference USA. The two teams do not play each other, so a computer ranking may decide the title game host if both finish undefeated. In the Mid-American Conference, Ohio leads at 5-0, with Western Michigan, Toledo, and Buffalo all at 4-1. Ohio hosts Toledo on Nov. 27, while Miami, Ohio, hosts Ohio on Tuesday.
New Mexico leads the Mountain West at 5-0, followed by Wyoming at 5-1. The league’s tiebreaker policy includes a “CFP-Ranked Team Tiebreaker Immunity” for the highest-ranked committee member. UNLV plays at New Mexico on Nov. 14, and New Mexico travels to Wyoming on Nov. 20.
The Pac-12, now with eight teams, has Boise State leading at 5-0. Oregon State is two games back at 3-2, tied with Texas State, San Diego State, and Utah State. Oregon State plays at Boise State on Nov. 14. In the SEC, Georgia leads at 6-1, followed by Alabama and Kentucky at 5-2. No top five SEC teams play each other in the remaining schedule. Georgia Southern and James Madison lead the Sun Belt East, while Louisiana Tech leads the West at 5-0. Louisiana Tech can clinch a title game spot with a win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday.
