The remaining games that will help decide the College Football Playoff

Michigan is entering one of the most important stretches in its program's history. On the field, the Wolverines have skated by to this point by feasting on inferior competition. This game at Penn State will really be the first time the Wolverines will be seriously tested all season long. Penn State's lone loss was at Ohio State, and a win over Michigan here would keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive. Off the field, Michigan is embroiled in the sign-stealing scandal that could weigh down the team during this major stretch of games.

The middle game of Georgia's tough stretch, Ole Miss brings some challenges. Lane Kiffin's offense has been playing better of late (most notably putting up 55 on LSU) and could be able to move the ball on the Bulldogs. Who knows? A win over Georgia could put the Rebels in the conversation for one of the final playoff berths. As for Georgia, they just need to keep plugging away.

The same situation as USC's game with Washington, the Trojans' College Football Playoff dreams are already dashed, but there is a Pac-12 championship berth to play for and spoiling your soon-to-be Big Ten foe's shot at their own national championship on the line. The Ducks have owned this series of late (winning 4 of 5 and 6 of 8) and their lone loss this season was a thriller at Washington. 

Utah must hate the Pacific Northwest teams. Utah's two losses were to Oregon and Oregon State ... and this week will have to travel to Seattle to face what may be the best team of that bunch. Utah's not playing for a national championship, but the Huskies are. Washington will be in the middle of a crucial three-game stretch that sees the U-Dub visit USC, host Utah and travel to Oregon State. Utah is a physical team that could bog down the Huskies offense. It is a shame Cam Rising has been out all season or this had the makings for a shootout. As it stands, this is still a huge test for Washington. 

What was once one of the greatest rivalries in college football has cooled on the national level in recent years. However, this game has become important once again. Florida State is undefeated and marching toward its first ACC title in a decade and a spot in the College Football Playoff (its first since the inaugural Playoff). Miami's losses have been ... for lack of a better word ... strange. The loss to Georgia Tech was self-inflicted and one of the worst losses in program history. The Hurricanes are prone to make some head-scratching decisions that has cost them a real shot at playing for an ACC title.  

Georgia has had a relatively weak schedule thus far but it ramps up in November. After hosting Missouri and Ole Miss in consecutive weeks, the Dawgs head up to Knoxville to take on the Tennessee Volunteers. The Vols were supposed to be a legitimate challenger to Georgia for the SEC East crown by losses to Florida and Alabama have dampened that. Still, they are talented enough to beat anyone and the crowd at Neyland Stadium will be raucous for this showdown. The Dawgs have won six straight in this series and 11 of 13. 

As of right now, the Minnesota Golden Gophers would be in the Big Ten championship game against either Ohio State or Michigan. With the nature of the Big Ten West standings, that could change week to week but Minnesota is a rather dangerous team for the Buckeyes. Obviously, the Gophers are pretty good if they are leading their division -- they won at Iowa and two of their losses were to Michigan and North Carolina. They have lost 12 straight to Ohio State (and 28 of 29) but they do seem to hang in games with the Bucks of late. Also, with a massive showdown at Michigan looming the following week for Ohio State, there is a chance that the Gophers don't get the Buckeyes' full attention. 

This seems weird to say ... and its the only time we'll get to say it: this Big 12 showdown between Oklahoma and BYU is a must-watch. Oklahoma, the long-time elite program of this conference, travels to Provo to face the new guy, the BYU Cougars. The Cougars went to Arkansas and beat the Razorbacks and their losses were at Kansas (who also beat Oklahoma), TCU and Texas. LaVell Edwards Stadium is a really tough place to play, especially if you aren't accustomed to the altitude, weather and crowd. This will be a test for Oklahoma, who must run the table and win the Big 12 championship game if they want to get back to the Playoff.

Texas doesn't have any currently ranked teams on their schedule, but there are some trap games out there. The Horns host defending Big 12 champ Kansas State before traveling to TCU, but this game at Iowa State could be the most dangerous. Iowa State has won 3 of the last 4 against Texas and the Longhorns haven't won in Ames since 2017. The Cyclones have one of the better defenses in the conference, though Oklahoma hung 50 on them a month ago. Quinn Ewers is out for at least another week and the hope he's back before the road trips to TCU and Iowa State. As of now, there is a logjam near the top of the Big 12 standings where several teams can sneak into a Big 12 championship berth opposite, likely, Oklahoma. Texas needs to win out and get a rematch with the Sooners for the conference title. Winning this game ... and all the others ... is a must if Texas wants a shot at a Playoff berth. 

Another big Pac-12 showdown. Oregon State's loss to Arizona eliminates any shot of the Beavers getting a playoff berth, they still have a chance at a Pac-12 title. With Washington coming to town, this could be a trap game for the Huskies. Oregon State has already beaten Utah and UCLA and could put a scare into Washington right before rivalry week. This also could be a great way for Michael Penix Jr. to work on his Heisman campaign.

Could Louisville possibly reach the College Football Playoff? It is very possible, though their loss to Pitt will be a tough defeat to overcome. To do so, Louisville will have to run the table and win the ACC championship -- likely beating Florida State. To get there, they will have to win at Mami. The Hurricanes' two losses have been to North Carolina (where they turned the ball over) and Georgia Tech, where they were a kneel down from winning the game but ... well ... head coach Mario Cristobal had other ideas. Louisville had their in-state rival Kentucky the following week, making this one of the biggest stretches in program history. 

Does Air Force really have a chance to get a College Football Playoff berth? Probably not, but if enough chaos happens to a lot of the top teams in the rankings than an undefeated Falcons team holding a Mountain West championship would be in the argument. The rest of Air Force's schedule is fairly tame, but this matchup against a surprising UNLV is their toughest regular-season test (they could meet again in the conference title game). Air Force is the Group of 5's best shot at sneaking into the Playoff, as unlikely as that is. 

This game, along with the Apple Cup, are bittersweet moments for the Pac-12. For the rivalry that used to be nicknamed "The Civil War", this may be the last time these two teams meet up for a while (unlike some of the other rivalries that are being separated by conference realignment, these two seem willing to find a way to continue playing each other). Oregon leaves for the Big Ten after this season but Oregon State could find a way to hit them with a big loss on the way out. Depending how all the chaos at the top of the Pac-12 shakes out before Thanksgiving, this game could decide who gets to play for presumably the last Pac-12 championship and a possible Playoff berth. 

There is a good chance both these teams enter their yearly finale undefeated and ranked in the top three in the country. The importance of this game cannot be overstated: the winner will likely own the best win of any school in the nation. The winner will also likely be the Big Ten East champion and compete the next week for the conference title. The winner will also likely punch their ticket to the College Football Playoff while the loser hopes they've done enough to warrant one of the other spots. It is also a huge narrative-building game for both coaches. Harbaugh and his coaching staff have the sign-stealing investigation ongoing and the beginning of it coincides with Michigan's changing fortunes in this rivalry. For Ryan Day, as great as his record is he has lost his last two games to the Wolverines. He's felt heat for that.

Last season the Seminoles ended a three-game losing streak to the Gators with a 45-38 win in Tallahassee last year. The Noles likely have much more riding on this game as they could be undefeated heading into this finale. Florida already popped Tennessee earlier in the season and will be battle-tested heading into this one -- the Gators play at LSU and at Missouri before hosting Florida State. With FSU probably playing in the ACC championship game the following week they cannot afford to overlook a dangerous Florida team just chomping at the bit to end the Noles national title hopes. 

Obviously, the conference championship games are huge in determining the four College Football Playoff spots. We've seen in previous years how a team can lose their hold on a spot with a title game loss, as well as a team's seeding change (see: TCU last season).

This year, the Pac-12 championship game will be held in Las Vegas on Friday night and a Washington-Oregon game would likely be for one of those four berths (though USC may have a word about that). On Saturday, the Big 12 championship game could be a rematch of the Red River Rivalry with Texas and Oklahoma facing off before heading out to the SEC. That would also act as a defacto playoff game. The SEC championship in Atlanta could be really interesting if we get another Georgia-Alabama match-up.

The Big Ten title game in Indianapolis will likely be the Michigan-Ohio State winner once again thumping the West Division champion. The ACC title game in Charlotte will be their second under the no-division format (the league did so in 2020 due to the pandemic) and could be a Florida State coronation.