The winner of each game will make the College Football Playoffs. Four teams are trying to win their conference in the first year they are a member.

Oregon vs Penn State

Oregon could win the Big Ten the first year they are in the conference. This is Penn State’s second trip to the Big Ten title game, the first one was in 2016, resulting in a 38-31 win against Wisconsin. Win or lose, both teams will make the playoffs. 

The Nittany Lions continue to fight off the narrative that they cannot beat the top teams in the country. Here is their time to change that narrative.

Georgia vs Texas

Similar to Oregon, Texas is the favorite to win their conference in the first year they joined. Georgia beat the Longhorns, 30-15, in Austin on October 19th. Texas hopes to change the outcome this time around. Both teams will be in the playoff regardless of the outcome.

Texas brings in the most efficient defense against the fifth most efficient offense in Georgia. It will be interesting to see who wins the battle of strengths.

Clemson vs SMU

This is the most interesting game this weekend. SMU is 0-1 against Top 25 teams, and that one loss came to BYU who is a spot behind Clemson in the rankings. The Mustangs are the favorite, but they need to prove they can beat a ranked team on Saturday. This is not only the first year SMU is in the ACC, but also the first year they are a power conference school. On the other hand, Clemson will be playing in their 10th ACC title game since 2009. The Tigers are 8-1 with their only loss coming in 2009 to Georgia Tech. That includes a five-year stretch of winning the conference every year from 2015-19. Clemson is 2-1 as the underdog in this game. Clemson needs to win this game to make the playoff, while the Mustangs have a chance of getting an at-large spot with a loss. The Tigers are 0-2 against ranked opponents, so whoever comes out victorious will get their first ranked win of the season. 

Arizona State vs Iowa State

These are two teams who do not have a lot of experience in conference title games. This is the second conference title game for Arizona State, the first coming in 2013 in a 38-14 loss to Stanford. Iowa State has also only played in one conference title game in 2020, where they lost to Oklahoma, 27-21. The Cyclones has not won a conference since 1912, when they repeated as the Border League champs. 

This game looked like a toss-up before Arizona State’s leading receiver was announced out for the game Saturday. Sophomore Jordyn Tyson has 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns.

UNLV at Boise State

The winner of this game should earn the fifth playoff automatic qualifier with Tulane’s loss to Memphis on Thanksgiving night. If UNLV beats Boise State, that would improve their resume more than an Army win against Tulane and the Runnin’ Rebels are a few spots ahead of the Black Knights in the CFP rankings. UNLV will have to stop Heisman finalist Ashton Jeanty. Jeanty has 2,288 rushing yards, 340 rushing yards shy of the FBS single-season record. The Runnin’ Rebels held Ashton Jeanty to 128 rushing yards on 33 carries (3.9 ypc) on October 25th. The only game where he ran for less was against Portland State where Jeanty carried the ball only 11 times and sat the second half.