College football reaches its final weekend over Thanksgiving and there is a ton left to be decided in terms of conference championship weekend. While we have a handful of teams that have qualified for their regular-season championship matchup, there is plenty to be decided in the final week of the regular season in 2023.
Which Conference Championship Games Are Clinched?
As of the end of the Week 12 slate, four conference championship games had both opponents clinched. The rest are yet to be decided and will be known following Week 13.
The four conference championship games that have been clinched are:
Conference USA Championship
New Mexico State vs. Liberty
MAC Championship
Miami (OH) vs. Toledo
SEC Championship
Georgia vs. Alabama
ACC Championship
Louisville vs. Florida State
The CUSA Championship Game will open the weekend of conference championships, kicking off at 7:00 pm ET on Friday, December 1, 2023.
Crowning a MAC Champion will kick off at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, December 2, 2023, one of two noon games on that Saturday. The Big 12 Championship will also kick at noon but no team has clinched a berth yet in the Big 12.
The SEC Championship game between Georgia and Alabama is arguably the most anticipated. At 4:00 pm ET on Saturday, December 2, 2023, the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs will do battle once again with likely a trip to the College Football Playoffs on the line.
Louisville and Florida State round out the Saturday slate with an 8:00 pm ET kickoff from Charlotte, North Carolina, for all the marbles in the ACC. The Seminoles lost star QB Jordan Travis on Saturday during their Week 12 game against North Alabama, likely hindering their chances of finishing 13-0 and winning the ACC, but time will tell for Mike Norvell’s Seminoles.
Three Conference Championship Games Have One Opponent
The Sun Belt Championship has half its title game components as Troy has clinched the Sun Belt West division at 6-1 in the conference. The Sun Belt East will come down to the wire with Appalachian State sitting at 5-2 in the conference and Coastal Carolina an identical record.
The Mountaineers lost the head-to-head with Coastal earlier in the year but arguably have the easier Week 13 matchup as they host Georgia Southern. The Chanticleers host James Madison, likely an angry team, after suffering their first defeat at the hands of App State in Week 12.
The Big Ten saw Iowa clinch their place in the Big Ten Championship Game and the winner of The Game between Ohio State and Michigan will face off against the Hawkeyes on December 2. Ohio State and Michigan weekend is largely seen as a College Football Playoff Semifinal at this stage.
Washington clinched their spot in the Pac-12 Championship Game with a win over Oregon State in Week 12 and they’ll likely square off against the Oregon Ducks, if Oregon can topple their in-state rival Beavers in Week 13.
Big Ten Championship Game
Ohio State or Michigan vs. Iowa
Sun Belt Championship
Coastal Carolina or Appalachian State vs. Troy
Pac-12 Championship
Oregon or Arizona vs. Washington
The American Athletic Conference, Big 12, and Mountain West all have yet to have any teams clinch championship game berths.
Tulane, SMU, and UTSA are all undefeated in AAC play entering Week 13 and the Green Wave and Roadrunners will square off against one another in a play-in AAC Championship Game semifinal of sorts.
Texas is likely headed to the Big 12 Championship Game if they can avoid a slip-up in Week 13, but who they play is completely up for grabs. Both Oklahoma State and Oklahoma remain alive, as does Kansas State, and the clinching scenarios are all over the place.
The Mountain West has a clear frontrunner in UNLV this season as the Rebels sit at 6-1 in the conference but a handful of teams have identical 5-2 records entering Week 13.
Air Force, Boise State, and San Jose State all remain alive and in contention for the final spot in the Mountain West Championship Game.