College Football Conference Championship Schedule: 2016 Playoff field will be decided this weekend

College Football fans can rejoice - two nights of conference championship games are here, and several of these will have critical impacts on the final College Football Playoff rankings, which will be released on Sunday night. Two of the current top five teams are inactive; that would be Ohio State and Michigan, as they finished behind Penn State in the Big Ten East race.

#1 Alabama takes on 15th-ranked Florida in the SEC title game on Saturday afternoon. However, even if unbeaten Bama falls, it would be a surprise to see them slipping out of the top 4. Ohio State is also likely to stay in the playoff hunt despite their inactivity this week, as they have remained a solid #2 for weeks now.

Looking down the list, it is almost a sure thing that the winner of Saturday’s Big Ten Championship game between Wisconsin and Penn State will leapfrog #5 Michigan in the rankings. However, they might need some help from upsets among the #3 or #4 ranked teams in order to get into the top four. The first opportunity will come on Friday night, when #4 Washington plays #8 Colorado with the Pac-12 title on the line.

The second opportunity for the Big Ten champ to gain a spot comes at the same time as the game in Indy, as #3 Clemson plays Virginia Tech for the ACC title.

Want to see the likely Playoff participants depending on the results of specific games? Play around with the Playoff Predictor from FiveThirtyEight.

Tune in all weekend long as we try to follow along with the results of this week’s games, then find out on Sunday morning who has made it into the Playoff.

Friday, December 2nd

MAC Championship

#17 Western Michigan Broncos vs. Ohio Bobcats
7:00 PM ET (6:00 CT)
Ford Field, Detroit, MI
ESPN2

PAC-12 Championship

#8 Colorado Buffaloes vs. #4 Washington Huskies
6:00 PM PT (8:00 CT)
Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA
FOX

Saturday, December 3rd

Big XII Games

#10 Oklahoma State Cowboys at #9 Oklahoma Sooners
11:30 AM CT
Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK
FOX

Baylor Bears at #16 West Virginia Mountaineers
3:30 PM ET (2:30 CT)
Milan Puskar Stadium, Morgantown, WV
FOX Sports 1

Conference USA Championship

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
12:00 ET (11 AM CT)
L.T. Smith Stadium, Bowling Green, KY
ESPN

AAC Championship

Temple Owls at #19 Navy Midshipmen
12:00 PM ET (11 AM CT)
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD
ABC

SEC Championship

#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #15 Florida Gators
4:00 PM ET (3:00 CT)
Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GA
CBS

Mountain West Championship

San Diego State Aztecs at Wyoming Cowboys
5:45 PM MT (6:45 CT)
War Memorial Stadium, Laramie, WY
ESPN

ACC Championship

#3 Clemson Tigers vs. #23 Virginia Tech Hokies
8:00 PM ET (7:00 CT)
Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
ABC

Big Ten Championship

#6 Wisconsin Badgers vs. #7 Penn State Nittany Lions
8:00 PM ET (7:00 CT)
Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN
FOX

Sunday, December 4th

College Football Playoff Selection Show

12 Noon ET (11 AM CT)
ESPN