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Championship Saturday Open Thread: Four Conference Titles Will Be Crowned Today

It’s the final Saturday of the season, but the playoff picture still may not be clear after the playing is done.

Michigan State v Penn State
Penn State meets up with Wisconsin for a Big Ten title, even if neither team is really playing for a spot in the CFB Playoff.
Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images

It’s the last day of major college football before our bowl appetites get whetted with early bowl silliness in a couple of weeks. You have some Bruins to watch today, but it’s Lonzo Ball and the hot basketball team, not another soul-crushing football game.

After the early morning (for West Coasters) tip off at Rupp Arena, you have the rest of the day to relax and watch what could end up being a huge day for college football, if chaos ensues, or a mere waiting game for a couple of teams in an all chalk outcome.

#10 Oklahoma State at #9 Oklahoma, 9:30am PST, FOX. Not an official championship game, but the Big 12 Championship will be decided in the Bedlam Series in Norman. The Sooners are undefeated in conference play after dropping two early to Houston and Ohio State. The Cowboys have one conference loss, but beating Bob Stoops team would give them the championship in a head-to-head tie-breaker. The Sooners would not only need some upsets on Saturday, but a change of heart from the playoff committee, to be invited back to the playoff.

#1 Alabama vs. #15 Florida, SEC Championship, 1:00pm PST, CBS. Florida won the pretty awful SEC East for the right to play Alabama in a rematch of last year’s SEC Championship. The Tide are favored by—gulp—24 in a totally meaningless game: Nick Saban’s team is a lock to return to the playoff.

#6 Wisconsin vs. #7 Penn State, Big Ten Championship, 5:00pm PST, FOX. If the SEC Championship game is totally meaningless, this one is only slightly less meaningless. The committee has shown that they don’t believe either of these teams are the two best in their conference, and placing the winner in the playoff would either mean three teams from the same conference, or displacing the Wolverines, who gave both of these teams a loss. Either way, someone will win the Big Ten Championship, and then talking heads will explode for the next 12 hours until the playoff bracket is revealed. Vegas likes the Badgers by 3.

#3 Clemson vs. #23 Virginia Tech, ACC Championship, 5:00pm PST, ABC. Despite being upset by Pitt—and coming close to being upset by NC State—Deshaun Watson and the Clemson Tigers are poised to return to the playoff and maybe, just maybe, have a rematch against Alabama in the National Championship. If you’re hoping for chaos tomorrow, pay attention to this game. Clemson would have to fall for pandemonium in the college football world. But don’t expect them to, Dabo Swinney’s team is favored by 11.

Here is the full slate of today’s games:

Saturday, Dec. 3, 2016
Matchup Time (ET) TV / Streaming
AACCG: Temple at (19) Navy 12 p.m. ABC / WatchESPN
CUSACG: LA Tech at Western Kentucky 12 p.m. ESPN / WatchESPN
Kansas State at TCU 12 p.m. FS1 / FS Go
Troy at Georgia Southern 12 p.m. ESPN2 / WatchESPN
(10) Oklahoma State at (9) Oklahoma 12:30 p.m. FOX / FS Go
New Mexico State at South Alabama 1:00 p.m. ESPN3
UL Lafayette at UL Monroe 3:00 p.m. ESPN3
Baylor at (16) West Virginia 3:30 p.m. FS1 / FS Go
SECCG: (1) Alabama vs. (15) Florida 4:00 p.m. CBS / CBSSports.com
SWACCG: Alcorn State vs. Grambling State 4:00 p.m. ESPNU / WatchESPN
Georgia State at Idaho 5:00 p.m. ESPN3
Arkansas State at Texas State 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 / WatchESPN
MWCCG: SDSU vs. Wyoming 7:45 p.m. ESPN / WatchESPN
B1GCG: (7) Penn State vs. (6) Wisconsin 8:00 p.m. FOX / FS Go
ACCCG: (3) Clemson vs. (23) Virginia Tech 8:00 p.m. ABC / WatchESPN

Watching? Let us know what you’re seeing.

GO BRUINS.