On the final week of the 2024 college football season, and several conference championship games had major College Football Playoff implications.
Whether it's first-round byes, playoff games at home or just a spot in the field on the line, five league title games had a lot of stakes.
We're tracking how each game will affect the CFP field:
Big Ten: Oregon 45, Penn State 37
Oregon enters the playoff as the only undefeated team remaining in the FBS, leaving the Ducks the committee's undisputed No. 1 team overall and the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye. Saturday's win against Penn State in the Big Ten Conference championship game punctuated their résumé with their second top-10 win along with the Oct. 12 win against Ohio State. Oregon can now also claim a win against Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. The Ducks are unmatched in combination of eye test and résumé, and a close loss by Penn State shouldn't drop the Nittany Lions too far. Penn State has a chance to be the committee's No. 3 team, which would give it the fifth seed -- the highest spot for a team that didn't win a conference title. There will likely be a good debate in the room, though, between Penn State and Texas, but there's a good chance the Big Ten and SEC teams all stay ranked ahead of Notre Dame. -- Heather Dinich
ACC: Clemson 34, SMU 31
Three-loss Clemson won the ACC and clinched a spot in the playoff, most likely as the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion behind Big 12 champion Arizona State. The Tigers will bump out the committee's No. 12 team to squeeze into the bracket, but because SMU battled back and lost on a field goal as time expired, the Mustangs will likely remain in the committee's bracket. One of the biggest debates in the room will likely be how far SMU falls, and how far Arizona State rises. Both of those factors will impact bubble teams such as three-loss Alabama and two-loss Miami. The most likely scenario is that the ACC gets two teams in -- Clemson and SMU.
SEC: Georgia 22, Texas 19
Georgia locked up a spot in the playoff and a first-round bye as one of the committee's four-highest ranked conference champions, but how high they climb could depend on who wins the Big Ten title game. If Oregon wins, Georgia would almost certainly get the No. 2 spot and No. 2 seed, as the undefeated Ducks would maintain the top overall spot and seed as the Big Ten champs. If Penn State wins the Big Ten, though, there will be a debate in the committee meeting room as to who should be No. 1. Penn State would have the best win -- against the top team in the country -- but Georgia would have defeated the committee's No. 2 team -- twice. The other question in the committee meeting room will be how far the Longhorns fall. Will they drop one spot? Or sink behind one-loss Notre Dame? The difference means being the No. 5 or No. 6 seed. Both would still host a first-round home game, it's just the bracket matchups that would be different. The No. 5 seed plays the No. 12 seed in the first round. Texas would still likely stay ranked ahead of Ohio State because of a common opponent in Michigan. The Longhorns beat Michigan in Ann Arbor, while the Buckeyes lost at home to their biggest rival. -- Dinich
Big 12: Arizona State 45, Iowa State 19
Arizona State earned a spot in the CFP with its convincing win against Iowa State, but it will still need help to earn a first-round bye. If the Big Ten and SEC winners, along with Mountain West Conference champion Boise State, all maintain their projected first-round byes, ASU will need Clemson to beat SMU in the ACC championship game to earn one of the bye spots awarded to the four highest-ranked conference champions. That's assuming the selection committee would keep the Big 12 champion ranked ahead of No. 17 Clemson -- a likely scenario, considering how well ASU has played and that Clemson has three losses. If ASU earns the No. 4 seed with a Clemson win, it would play the winner of No. 12 vs. No. 5. If SMU wins, though, Arizona State would likely earn the No. 11 seed and play the No. 6-seeded team. -- Dinich