Let’s take a look at the clinching scenarios for Power Five conference divisions/championship:

ACC
Atlantic
Clemson has clinched the division title by virtue of its head-to-head tie-breaker vs Louisville.
Coastal
Virginia Tech – Will clinch the title with a win against Virginia or a loss by UNC.
UNC – Needs a win against NC State and a VT loss.

Big Ten
East
Michigan – Clinches the East by defeating Ohio State.
Penn State – Wins the division title with a win over Michigan State and a Michigan loss.
Ohio State – Clinches with a win over Michigan and a Penn State loss.
West
Wisconsin – Wins the division with a win against Minnesota or a Nebraska loss.
Nebraska – Needs a win over Iowa and a Wisconsin loss.

Big 12
The winner of the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State game (Dec 3) wins the Big 12 title

Pac 12
North
The winner of the Washington-Washington State game wins the North
South
Colorado – Clinches with a win over Utah
USC – Wins the division if Colorado loses to Utah

SEC
Florida (East) and Alabama (West) have already clinched their divisions.

And for the Group of Five, here are the notables as far as who would get a New Years Bowl invite.

MAC
Western Michigan wins the West with a victory over Toledo. With a win in the MAC title game, vs either Ohio or Miami (OH) they would almost certainly get the major bowl invite

MWC
Mountain
Wyoming – Clinches the division with a win over New Mexico
Boise State – Wins the division with a win over Air Force and a Wyoming loss
West
San Diego State has clinched the division
* If Boise State wins the Mountain West, they would probably claim the New Years Bowl bid if WMU loses. If Wyoming or SDSU win, it is less clear at this time if they would get it, but we could know more when Tuesday’s rankings are released

AAC
While Houston is likely the best team in the conference and may return to the CFP rankings after an impressive win over Louisville, they cannot win the conference title and are therefore ineligible for the New Years Bowl. None of the teams that do have a chance to win the title (Navy, Temple, USF) are currently ranked.

Week 12 Rankings
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. Clemson
5. Washington
6. Wisconsin
7. Penn State
8. Oklahoma
9. Colorado
10. Oklahoma State

Week 13 Preview

As mentioned above, some very important games this week.

Friday
Washington at Washington St, 3:30 ET, FOX

Saturday
Michigan at Ohio State, noon ET, ABC
Michigan St at Penn St, 3:30 ET, ESPN
Minnesota at Wisconsin, 3:30 ET, BTN
Utah at Colorado, 7:30 ET, FOX

Mike Lowe
Mike Lowe

College Football Analyst

Mike is a Baltimore native living in Portland, OR since 2007. He currently runs his own business specializing in video production and online marketing. Prior to that he was a legal technology consultant, worked for 9 years at Johns Hopkins University and served 6 years in the Air Force. He also enjoys travel, food, beer, and is a volunteer at the Oregon Humane Society.

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