With still a month to go in the regular college football season, fans are beginning to take a peek at the postseason.
The first set of College Football Playoff Rankings will come out this Tuesday, but first, we have an entire slate of games that will take place this weekend. As the pressure ramps up, it will be interesting to see how things play out and which teams melt under the lights.
Here's a look at the championship picture for the Power-4 conferences as we head into November.
ACC
The Favorite: Miami Hurricanes (4-0)
The Contenders: Clemson Tigers (5-0), SMU Mustangs (4-0), PIttsburgh Panthers (3-0)
On the outside-looking-in: Virginia Tech Hokies (3-1)
Miami enters the month of November as the favorite to get to the ACC Championship, just based on the schedule. The Hurricanes play Duke, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Syracuse. While those road games against Syracuse and Georgia Tech are not give-me wins, they are still very much manageable.
Clemson will play Louisville and then travel to Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh, which is a much tougher schedule than what the Hurricanes have left. SMU and Pittsburgh will play this weekend, which will put the loser on the outside-looking-in with Virginia Tech. The Hokies need to win-out, which would include a win over Clemson, and hope for the winner of Pitt-SMU to lose to make it to Charlotte.
Big Ten
The Favorite: Oregon Ducks (5-0)
The Contenders: Indiana Hoosiers (5-0), Penn State Nittany Lions (4-0), Ohio State Buckeys (3-1)
Right now, it's just not looking very likely that a team outside of the four we have listed above wins the Big Ten. There is a whole host of teams with two losses, but it would take a few crazy scenarios happening for them to get back in the mix of things.
Penn State and Ohio State will play this weekend, so the winner of that game will be in firm contention while the loser will be left on the outside-looking-in. Oregon is listed as the favorite for now because the Ducks have the most favorable schedule, closing out the year with Michigan, Maryland Wisconsin, and Washington.
Big 12
The Favorite: BYU Cougars (5-0)
The Contenders: Iowa State Cyclones (4-0), Kansas State Wildcats (4-1)
On the outside-looking-in: Colorado Buffaloes (4-1)
With a 5-0 record and a win over Kansas State, BYU is the clear favorite to make it to the Big 12 Championship right now. That being said, Iowa State and Kansas State still control their own destinies. These two teams will play at the end of November, perhaps with a spot in the Big 12 Championship game on the line.
Colorado is also in the mix, but the Buffaloes will need a team or two to lose for them to be back in the race since they lost to Kansas State earlier this year.
SEC
The Favorite: Texas A&M Aggies (5-0)
The Contenders: Georgia Bulldogs (4-1), Texas Longhorns (3-1), Tennessee Volunteers (3-1), LSU Tigers (3-1)
With the lone perfect record in the SEC, Texas A&M is considered the favorite to get to Atlanta and play for the conference title. In addition, the Aggies have a favorable schedule with games against South Carolina and Auburn before closing out the year with a rivalry game against Texas.
However, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, and LSU are all in the mix. Georgia holds the tiebreaker over Texas and the Bulldogs will play Tennessee later this month in what will essentially be an elimination game for SEC Championship contention. LSU has a loss to Texas A&M, but the Tigers could be helped by a three-way or four-way tie scenario that includes considering conference opponent win percentage.
At this time, it would take a couple of crazy scenarios for a two-loss SEC team, like Alabama, to get back into the race for the SEC Championship.