College football conference championship games: Schedule, matchups, College Football Playoff factors

There are nine conference championship games at the FBS level this college football season. They're scheduled for Friday, Dec. 5 and Saturday, Dec. 6.

Follow along here as teams secure spots in title games and matchups are set. We also have conference tiebreaker scenarios and explanations linked below.

College football conference championship schedule, matchups

All times ET

Friday, Dec. 5

• Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State (Conference USA Championship Game), 7 p.m. on CBSSN
• Troy at James Madison (Sun Belt Championship Game), 7 p.m. on ESPN
• North Texas vs. Tulane (American Athletic Championship Game), 8 p.m. on ABC
• Boise State vs. UNLV (Mountain West Championship Game), 8 p.m. on FOX

Saturday, Dec. 6

• BYU vs. Texas Tech (Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington, Texas), 12 p.m. on ABC
• Western Michigan vs. Miami (Ohio) (MAC Championship Game in Detroit), 12 p.m. on ESPN
• Georgia vs. Alabama (SEC Championship Game in Atlanta), 4 p.m. on ABC
• Virginia vs. Duke (ACC Championship Game in Charlotte), 8 p.m. on ABC
• Ohio State vs. Indiana (Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis), 8 p.m. on FOX

College football conference championship tiebreakers

• : Tulane and North Texas clinched spots after Week 14 wins.
• : Duke and Virginia clinched spots in the championship game with wins on Nov. 29.
• : BYU and Texas Tech clinched spots after Arizona beat Arizona State
• : With their wins in Week 14, Ohio State and Indiana secured Big Ten title game spots
•  Jax State clinched a spot in the CUSA title game for itself and Kennesaw State when it defeated Western Kentucky.
• : Miami (Ohio) clinched an appearance against Western Michigan by defeating Ball State
• : UNLV and Boise State clinched after four-way tie was broken by a composite average of nationally ranked metrics
• : Alabama will play Georgia for the SEC title after beating Auburn in the Iron Bowl and Texas A&M's loss to Texas on Nov. 28.
• Troy defeated Southern Miss and clinched a spot in the SBC title game at James Madison

How conference titles factor in the College Football Playoff

The five highest-ranked conference champions by the CFP selection committee will automatically make the 12-team CFP field, regardless of where they rank in the committee's top 25 (and even if they're not in the top 25).

However, it's necessary to note that an automatic bid isn't tied to a specific conference — these automatic spots come from where conference champions rank in the CFP selection committee's rankings. In other words, winning a conference title game doesn't automatically put you in the CFP field. It matters where these teams place in the rankings.

That means five spots in the CFP bracket will automatically come out of these nine conference champions:

• American Conference
• ACC
• Big 12
• Big Ten
• Conference USA
• MAC
• Mountain West
• SEC
• Sun Belt

👉 Click or tap here for a deeper dive on how the College Football Playoff works.