November is almost here.
Not only does this mean political ads end every Saturday commercial break, but there’s one more week to go. — but it also means the conference race is in a stretch run. And those conference titles may mean more than ever in 2024.
Thanks to the 12-team playoff, the top four conference champions in the final College Football Playoff rankings will receive a first-round bye, and the fifth-place conference champion will also automatically qualify. It’s safe to assume that the four power conference champions will occupy the top four spots, but it’s difficult to predict who those four teams will be at this point.
As we enter the final five weeks of the season, we take a look at the contenders for each of college football’s nine conference titles. There’s still a lot to play with.
american
First-tier candidates: Army (6-0), Navy (4-0), Tulane (4-0).
Division 2: Memphis (3-1)
Please note that Army vs. Navy does not count towards the AAC title. Only North Texas and UTSA remain on the Black Knights’ schedule. After losing to Notre Dame on Saturday, Navy has three winnable games remaining, including a home game against Tulane on Nov. 16. This game could decide who will face Army for the league title.
ACC
Division I: Clemson (5-0), Miami (4-0), Pitt (3-0), SMU (4-0)
Division 2: Virginia Tech (3-1), Louisville (3-2)
There could be six teams in this race, but it’s hard to imagine a scenario where Miami and Clemson don’t compete for the ACC title. Given the way both teams are playing, this could be a game for the sole purpose of securing seeding in the College Football Playoff. After the Mustangs beat Duke in overtime on Saturday night, next week’s Pitt vs. SMU game will go a long way in determining who can be the spoiler in the conference race.
big 12
Division 1: BYU (5-0), Iowa State (4-0), Kansas State (4-1)
Division 2: Cincinnati (3-1), Colorado (3-1), TCU (3-2), Texas Tech (3-2), West Virginia (3-2)
This could be the most crowded title race in college football. BYU continues to win, with the Cougars defeating UCF in Orlando on Saturday. However, Kansas State will visit Iowa State on the final weekend of the season in what could be a semifinal matchup of sorts. There are still eight teams left in the title race (nine if you count Arizona State), but two of the preseason favorites, Oklahoma State and Utah, are not in the mix.
big ten
Division I: Indiana (5-0), Oregon (5-0), Penn State (4-0)
Division 2: Ohio State University (3-1)
It certainly feels like a race for four teams in the Big Ten. Other teams have at least two conference losses, and it’s hard to imagine teams like Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin making the cut at this point. The game of the week in Week 10 is Ohio State’s trip to Penn State, but the Nittany Lions will likely need to get a healthy Drew Aller to have a chance. He left PSU’s win against Wisconsin on Saturday night with an apparent knee injury.
conference usa
Division 1: Western Kentucky (3-0), Jacksonville State (3-0)
Division 2: Liberty (3-1), Sam Houston (3-1)
This race will go well. we think. WKU has both Liberty State and Jacksonville State remaining, and Sam Houston also plays for both Liberty State and Jacksonville State.
Mac
Division 1: Western Michigan (4-0), Miami, Ohio (3-1), Ohio (3-1), Bowling Green (3-1)
Division 2: Buffalo (2-2), Eastern Michigan (2-2), Toledo (2-2), Ball State (2-2)
Bowling Green’s win against Toledo on Saturday could be important. WMU has both the Eagles and Eastern Michigan on its schedule, but Miami has a tiebreaker with Ohio thanks to a 30-20 win earlier this month.
mountain west
Division I: Boise State (3-0), Colorado State (3-0), San Diego State (2-0)
Division 2: Fresno State (3-1), UNLV (2-1), San Jose State (3-2)
Boise State is the favorite for a playoff spot in Group of Five and defeated UNLV on Friday night. CSU is without star receiver Torrie Horton, but still has a manageable schedule with three winnable games and a trip to Fresno State remaining.
SEC
Division 1: Texas A&M (5-0), Georgia (4-1), Texas (3-1), Tennessee (3-1), LSU (3-1)
Division 2: Alabama (3-2), Ole Miss (2-2)
We excluded many of the teams with two losses from the second division. We would be stunned if two of these seven teams didn’t make it to the SEC title game. Texas A&M defeated LSU on Saturday night, giving it the easiest path to the conference title game, with South Carolina, Auburn and Texas remaining. Two out of three wins would be enough. LSU and Alabama will play in November, and Georgia has both Ole Miss and Tennessee.
sun belt
East: Old Dominion (3-1), Georgia Southern (3-1), Marshall (2-1)
West: Louisiana State (3-0), Arkansas State (3-1), South Alabama (3-1), UL Monroe (3-1), Texas State (2-1).
The Sun Belt is the only conference in college football that still has divisions. And as you can see, the races in the west are really, really crowded. South Alabama has the highest point differential in the division so far and heads to Louisiana on Nov. 16. It’s a potentially district-deciding game. After a win earlier this week, Old Dominion will play Georgia Southern in a tiebreaker and will play Marshall on Nov. 23.
Here are the rest of this week’s winners and losers.
winner
Kennesaw State: The Owls earned their first-ever win against an FBS team on Wednesday night. And it was huge. Kennesaw State defeated Liberty for its first win of the season in its first year at college football’s top level. The Owls enter the game 0-6 on the season, with QB Davis Bryson completing 16-of-20 passes for 189 yards and a TD, and are 0-10 against FBS-level teams until Wednesday night’s win. It was.
Pitt: The Panthers are 7-0 for the first time since 1982, when Dan Marino was throwing passes for the school. The defense scored three touchdowns in a 41-13 win against Syracuse on Thursday night, going 31-0 at halftime. QB Eli Holstein, who transferred from the University of Alabama, had a pedestrian game but is a big reason why Pitt has remained undefeated so far. Holstein completed 64% of his passes for 17 TDs and threw just five interceptions all season. Syracuse QB Kyle McCord pitched five innings on Wednesday night alone.
Pitt is off to a 7-0 start for the first time since 1982. (Photo: Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire, Getty Images)
Tulsa: It was hard to imagine the Golden Hurricane being in this category in the third quarter Saturday. Tulsa led UTSA 42-17 with 5:30 remaining and outscored the Roadrunners 29-3 for an improbable 46-45 victory. After Kamdyn Benjamin caught the final two TD passes of the game from Cooper Regas to give UTSA a 42-17 lead, Tulsa forced three punts and a turnover on downs.
Indiana: The Hoosiers didn’t need Curtis Rourke to keep winning. No. 13 Indiana State improved to 8-0 with a 31-17 home victory over Washington. The Hoosiers’ defense picked off Will Rodgers twice in the first half and tied the game in the fourth quarter after Myles Price completed a 65-yard punt return inside the Washington 15-yard line. Rourke could return sooner rather than later, and it’s very possible the Hoosiers will be 10-0 by the Nov. 23 trip to Ohio State.
loser
Oklahoma State: A disaster for the season in Stillwater. Oklahoma State was one of the Big 12 favorites to play in the SEC along with Texas and Oklahoma State, but they lost 38-28 to Baylor and are now 0-5 in the conference. Oklahoma State was unable to stop Baylor on the ground, and it was Baylor’s first win in nine home games against a conference opponent. The Bears gained 343 yards on just 38 attempts, thanks to Dawson Pendergrass’ 142 yards on six carries.
Oklahoma State is 0-5 in the Big 12 so far this season. (Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Liberty: A loss to Kennesaw State almost certainly ends Liberty’s chances of competing in the expanded College Football Playoff. After going undefeated a season ago and losing by 39 points to Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl, Liberty needed help to go another undefeated season and make the 2024 playoffs. Now that the season ends undefeated, Liberty’s weaker schedule means the team will be out of the CFP even if it finishes 12-1.
Kyle McCord: The former Ohio State QB had his most nightmare game of the season Thursday night. McCord had five interceptions in Syracuse’s loss to Pitt, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. Syracuse’s first three drives ended in McCord interceptions, two of which were returned for TDs. Overall, Pitt had three pick-sixes as Syracuse fell to 5-2.
Stanford: The Cardinal need a win at home against an FBS team. Stanford, which lost 27-24 at home to Wake Forest on Saturday, is 0-10 at home against non-FCS opponents in the Troy Taylor era. The Demon Deacons traveled across the country to grab the victory when Matthew Dennis kicked a 23-yard field goal with 1:48 remaining. Stanford turned the ball over four times and Ashton Daniels was intercepted in Wake Forest’s territory with 10 seconds left, debunking the Cardinal’s chances for victory.
