While the Big Ten seeks to find as many ways as it can to sabotage the playoff system, we are keeping our focus on the 12-team field to be assembled in December.
We will take a look at the 20 marquee games that will pave the way to a College Football Playoff berth. That means a heavy dose of power conference games. Sorry Conference USA, this is invite only.
Ten of the 12 berths likely will come from the four power leagues. Independent Notre Dame, the runner-up to Ohio State in January, and Boise State of the Mountain West are frontrunners to be the other two teams in the field. The Broncos would land the bid for the non-power conference schools.
The defending national champion Buckeyes, Penn State and Michigan lead the Big Ten brigade while the Southeastern Conference is loaded: Texas, Georgia, Alabama and LSU all have a reasonable road map to winning their way into the playoff field. The Atlantic Coast Conference has Clemson in the lead position while the Big 12 is wide open, kind of like last season when Arizona State came out of nowhere to win the automatic bid.
While a committee helps decide the field, each team ultimately controls its own fate. Just win your games – no matter who you’re playing and no matter the venue.
Let’s start the countdown to the national championship game in Miami Gardens, Fla.
20. Texas A&M at Texas, Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Aggies were 7-1 last season before wilting and missing the playoffs. One of the losses was the first meeting against the Longhorns since 2011. It reasons Texas A&M will need a huge upset but the Longhorns will be on guard to avoid stumbles while chasing a No. 1 seed.
19. Boise State at Notre Dame, Oct. 4., 3:30 p.m. ET
A victory in South Bend would put the Broncos in the driver’s seat for the non-Power 4 berth with the Mountain West surely providing just lukewarm competition. The Fighting Irish have just three preseason Top 25 teams on their slate and might have to pack their shillelaghs as they look to return to the CFP title game.
18. BYU at Iowa State, Oct. 25, TBD
Two years ago, the Cyclones walloped BYU 45-13 and you can picture that score being taped all around the Cougars’ complex during game week. Iowa State still has Rocco Becht thriving at quarterback but BYU lost Jake Retzlaff in the offseason due to a scandal in which he was accused of sexual assault and later admitted to consensual sex, a big no-no in Provo, Utah.
17. Clemson at North Carolina, Oct. 4. TBD
The Tigers are somehow the only preseason ranked squad on Bill Belichick’s first college schedule, which has to be girlfriend Jordon Hudson’s doing. But the real catch is ACC Dean of Coaches Dabo Sweeney matching wits and schemes against six-time Super Bowl champion Belichick.
16. BYU at Texas Tech, Nov. 8, TBD
The Red Raiders were highly aggressive in the transfer portal and have been very willing to pay to get good players to Lubbock (if you’ve ever been there, you understand why). For BYU, this could be its season as its previous game will be on the road at Iowa State. Lose both and get ready to watch playoff games on television.
15. Miami at SMU, Nov. 1, TBD
The Mustangs are the only preseason ranked ACC team on the Miami slate as the Carson Beck-led Hurricanes look to take advantage of a favorable schedule. SMU won’t be sneaking up on anybody this season after posting an undefeated regular season in its first go-around in the league in 2024.
14. Oklahoma vs. Texas at Dallas, Oct. 11, 3:30 p.m. ET
Sooners quarterback John Mateer will surely bet on himself – show us the Venmo slips — as Oklahoma tries to spring an upset in the Red River Shootout. The Longhorns have won two of the past three meetings with the victories coming by scores of 49-0 in 2022 and 34-3 last season.
13. SMU at Clemson, Oct. 18, TBD
The Tigers knocked off the Mustangs in the ACC Championship Game last season when Nolan Hauser kicked a career-long 56-yard field goal as time expired. This should be another barnburner with both quarterbacks returning — Clemson’s Cade Klubnik and SMU’s Kevin Jennings — and everyone aware the loser of this game could be the odd team out in the ACC title game chase.
12. Arizona State at Iowa State, Nov. 1, TBD
The Sun Devils pounded the Cyclones 45-19 in last season’s Big 12 title game but rumblin’ Cam Skattebo is now earning NFL paychecks instead of stomping college defenders. Iowa State will be aiming to deliver some payback and the winner of this contest will be looking good per landing a spot in this year’s conference decider.
11. Oregon at Penn State, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Ducks beat the Nittany Lions in the Big Ten title game last season but that was when efficient Dillon Gabriel was running the offense. Oregon will need new quarterback Dante Moore to be comfortable by this matchup, while Penn State just may let Kaytron Allen (124 yards, 8.9 average in last year’s matchup) and Nicholas Singleton (105, 10.5) run the ball all night.
10. LSU at Alabama, Nov. 8, TBD
The Tigers need to end their issues against the Crimson Tide – 12 losses in the last 14 meetings – if they harbor thoughts of reaching the SEC Championship. Quarterback Garrett Nussmeier was picked off twice last season when LSU was hammered 42-13 by an Alabama squad that dominated the trenches and rolled up 311 rushing yards.
9. Ohio State at Michigan, Nov. 29, Noon ET
The Wolverines have won the past four meetings with last season’s showdown being a huge stunner as an unranked Michigan squad beat No. 2 Ohio State in Columbus. How much meaning this game will have depends on how well Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood progresses this season while Ohio State will again have the better all-around squad.
8. Penn State at Ohio State, Nov. 1, TBD
Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar has taken some heat for miscues on the big stage and he’ll have a major opportunity to silence that narrative against the Buckeyes. Of course, Ohio State isn’t fretting after beating Penn State eight straight times and 12 of the last 13 meetings, including last season in Happy Valley.
7. Alabama at Georgia, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m. ET
This could be the week that the Crimson Tide really miss Jalen Milroe. It’s also possible it will be the one they learn Ty Simpson is on his way to being the next great Alabama quarterback. Perhaps the Bulldogs have more to prove. They have dropped nine of their past 10 games against the Crimson Tide – the lone win coming in the 2021 season national championship game.
6. Texas at Georgia, Nov. 15, TBD
A late-season game with two quarterbacks in the Heisman Trophy race and two squads craving an SEC Championship Game invite. The Longhorns’ season-opening No. 1 ranking surely didn’t sit well with a Georgia team that beat Texas twice last season, including a 22-19 overtime win in the SEC title game.
5. Texas at Ohio State, Aug. 30, Noon ET
The enticing showdown right out of the gate means one of the top national champion contenders shuffle into September saddled with a loss. It will be the first game with Arch Manning as the Longhorns’ full-fledged starting quarterback while the defending champion Buckeyes also will unveil a new signal caller in former Alabama commit Julian Sayin.
4. Big 12 Championship Game, Dec. 6, Noon ET (projected Iowa State vs. Texas Tech)
When Texas and Oklahoma abandoned the league, everything went downhill. A league that might be in the running for three or four bids will likely just receive one for the second straight season. And no Big 12 team will be around when the semifinals arrive.
3. ACC Championship Game, Dec. 6, 8 p.m. ET (projected Clemson vs. Miami)
You’d like to think both qualifiers in this game are assured CFP berths but you just never know. Clemson made the field last season by winning this contest, while the Hurricanes missed the ACC title game and the postseason. This time around, expect both teams to get in.
2. Big Ten Championship Game, Dec. 6, 8 p.m. ET (projected Ohio State vs. Penn State)
The Nittany Lions get a second chance to beat the Buckeyes this season, and this is the one you’d rather win. Ohio State will get the answers it needs earlier in the season and will be rolling by this time of year.
1. SEC Championship Game, Dec. 6, 4 p.m. ET (projected Texas vs. Georgia)
Arch Manning will be totally settled in and hearing chatter about being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. The always-tough Georgia defenders will get tired of hearing the Manning chatter and make a run at shutting down Texas.
–Field Level Media
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