Starting tonight, NCAA Football’s Conference Championship Games will begin in what could be the final year that the Power Five exists. The Pac-12 will be narrowed down to the Pac-2 unless Washington State and Oregon State can pair up with enough programs prior to the 2024-25 season.
This is also the final year of the four-team College Football Playoffs, as the field will be expanding to 12 following next season.
The only CFP berth that appears to be all but wrapped up is the one that will be claimed by the Michigan Wolverines when they beat the 23-point underdog Iowa Hawkeyes for the Big Ten Championship tomorrow.
Online sportsbooks have also placed the Wolverines as the most likely team to make it to the CFP out of all remaining eligible teams.
Another of the top four seeds will be given to the winner of the SEC. The Georgia Bulldogs are 6.5-point favorites over the Alabama Crimson Tide, but either team will end up in the playoffs if they win.
There has yet to be a season where the SEC Champion was left out of the playoffs. That leaves two spots left.
It would seem that the potentially final Pac-12 Championship Game will deliver another playoff team. The Washington Huskies are undefeated and ranked third, and have already beaten the Oregon Ducks at home this season.
The Ducks have stormed back, winning every game since that loss at Washington, entering the Pac-12 Championship as the fifth-ranked team in the nation.
Because this matchup of top five ranked teams occurs so late, there’s no doubt that the winner will be one of the top four CFP seeds. That leaves one spot open.
The most likely team to take that fourth spot is the Florida State Seminoles, who are one win away from finishing undefeated and capturing their first ACC Championship since 2014.
Backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker will attempt to lead the Seminoles to the CFP National Championship Game, and they are potentially three wins away from getting the job done.
FSU is favored by 2.5 points over the Louisville Cardinals at the books featured in our online gambling site reviews. It will be a travesty if the Seminoles are excluded from the postseason with a win, but there is a slight chance that could happen.
If the Noles lose, that leaves the door open for the Texas Longhorns to enter the CFP by winning the Big 12 Championship. They hold a double-digit lead in the point spread over the Oklahoma State Cowboys and should have no problem winning the Conference title.
If both the Longhorns and Seminoles lose, the CFP Selection Committee may think about including the Ohio State Buckeyes with one loss or a one-loss Georgia team should they get beaten by Alabama.
No matter where you are in the country, there is an 18 and up online betting option that will let you place a wager on these Conference Championship Games and CFP odds. Check out the online sportsbooks we recommend here to learn more.