20 games that will help decide the College Football Playoff championship

Both Michigan and Penn State have recently dispatched Iowa, and now they get to face off against each other. For Michigan, this game is a must win if they have any shot at getting to the College Football Playoff. It is pretty much a must for Penn State as well. The Nittany Lions have one of the nation's best defenses and should be licking their chops to play a Wolverines offense that has been up and down all year long. With both schools playing Ohio State late in the year, neither can afford to give up this game. 

Wisconsin's defense has been suffocating all season long. In six games this season, the Badgers have allowed just 29 points and have recorded four shutouts. They've played two teams from the Big Ten's East division and have won those games by a combined score of 73-14. Granted, the Badgers have played a home-heavy schedule and will finish the season on the road in four of the final six games...including this trip to Columbus. Two great offenses going up against two great defenses. This not only could be the game of the year in the Big Ten, but it also could be a preview of the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis this December. (At least one of these schools have been in seven of the eight title games.) 

This is the latest on the calendar these two rivals have faced off since World War II. Notre Dame's close loss at Georgia lost some of its shine with the Bulldogs' home defeat to South Carolina, but the Fighting Irish are very much still alive in the Playoff hunt. Aside from that Georgia game, this is likely the toughest game on Notre Dame's schedule and is a must win if the Irish have any shot at playing for a national championship. And with Michigan's remaining slate, the Irish may need to put a whuppin' on the Wolverines to be a serious contender. 

Auburn is on this list three times...with games against LSU, Georgia and Alabama remaining. Ouch! The Tigers' lone chance at earning a Playoff berth is to sweep those games, and that would be quite the feat worthy of one of those spots. It probably won't happen, but that doesn't mean they can't play spoiler. LSU has been surging of late and its combination of wins over Texas and Florida could be the best pair of victories anyone in the nation owns. LSU is 9-3 over the last 12 seasons in the battle of the Tigers. 

Both Georgia and Florida suffered their first losses of the season on Oct. 12, but each feels quite differently about the loss. Georgia was stunned at home by a mediocre (at best) South Carolina team that really didn't play all that well to win the game. The loss very well could have cost Georgia any realistic shot at a Playoff spot. Florida, on the other hand, went down to LSU and hung with the Tigers until late in the game. Now the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party" will likely determine who gets to play in the SEC championship game in December, giving that team the opportunity to knock off what will likely be one of the best teams in the nation. Florida has a good shot at making the Playoff if it runs the table. Georgia could still be in the discussion if it does the same. The loser likely has its bubble burst. 

This is probably the biggest regular-season game of the season. Right now, these two are among the best teams in the country and legitimate national championship threats. Both Alabama and LSU feature elite offenses as well as elite defenses — who doesn't want to see those great Alabama receivers go up against that LSU secondary? Sure, we've seen games in the past where the Tigers have failed to give the Tide the game we hyped it to be, and there's a chance we could get that again. (Alabama has won the last eight games by an average of 15 points.) The loser of this game still could be in line for one of those four Playoff spots and could sneak in by avoiding the SEC championship game. 

If Wisconsin beats Ohio State (and even if it loses a close battle), it would seem that the Badgers would be in the driver's seat for a Playoff spot. That's where Iowa could come in as a foil. Sure Wisconsin has won six of the last seven in this series, but most of those games were nail-biters, and both teams boast heavy-duty defenses that should keep this game close. It should be a nice physical game for the Heartland Trophy that could determine the Big Ten West champion. 

This is a bit of a trap game for the Gators. Missouri is ranked right now, but who knows if that will be the case when the two meet in mid-November. The Tigers have Kelly Bryant, who did lead Clemson to the College Football Playoff in the 2017 season, and they will finally be returning home for a game after three straight road games and a bye mixed in. This is the Gators' final conference game before facing rival Florida State in the regular-season finale. 

Auburn has a shot at a Playoff spot but has a brutal schedule to get there. Georgia's loss to South Carolina complicates its path to a Playoff berth. Needless to say that this is a big game for both school's postseason lives. The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry has been dominated by the Dawgs (winners of 11 of the last 14), though the two famously split their two games in 2017, with Auburn winning the regular-season battle and Georgia getting revenge in the SEC championship game. 

Now that Oklahoma has dispatched of Texas in the Red River Showdown, the Sooners can focus on not only getting one of the two spots in the Big 12 championship game but also on locking down a Playoff berth. While there really isn't any easy games the rest of the way, their next big test is at Baylor in mid-November. The Bears boast arguably the conference's top defense (tops in points allowed and sacks and second in yards allowed) and could pose some problems for the Big 12's top offense, Oklahoma. 

Boise State has an outside shot at getting into the College Football Playoff. Obviously the Broncos have to win all of their remaining games, including upcoming matchups with BYU, Wyoming and this one at Utah State. Broncos quarterback Hank Bachmeier was knocked out of their win over Hawaii, so his injury puts some pause in their ability to get to this game unscathed. The Aggies have a solid defense whose stats are a bit skewed with losses to LSU and Wake Forest running up some of its averages. While winning out doesn't guarantee Boise a spot in the Playoff, it certainly put the team in the mix...especially if we see the contenders in the SEC and Big Ten beat up on each other. 

Both Penn State and Ohio State face stiff tests before they get to this showdown, but this could be a battle of undefeateds in the penultimate weekend of the season. Both have great defenses that have been smothering opponents all season long, but the Buckeyes have the better offense. The last three years have seen three outstanding games. (The last two were one-point Ohio State victories and in 2016 the Nittany Lions stunned No. 2 Ohio State by three.) If things keep going the way they are, this game will likely be its own Playoff contest.  

Oregon is realistically the only Pac-12 school that could find its way into the College Football Playoff. The Ducks' lone loss was a close one in the season opener to Auburn, and if they make it to this game unscathed it would mean they've won at Washington and USC and beat Arizona and Washington State in Eugene. Arizona State is sneaky good — at least good enough to topple Oregon. They are a tough-minded bunch that Herm Edwards has believing it can compete every time it takes the field. The team also has a great back in Eno Benjamin and a disruptive defense. 

Bedlam. Oklahoma quarterback Jalen Hurts has played in the Red River Showdown, Iron Bowl, the SEC championship, the College Football Playoff and the national championship game. If anyone is capable of brushing off playing in his first Bedlam game, it is Hurts. Still, there is nothing Oklahoma State would love more than to take down the Sooners and severely "hurt" their chances to get one of those Playoff spots. The Sooners have won 14 of 16 against the Cowboys, though the last two seasons have seen two outstanding games. 

Clemson doesn't have a difficult remaining schedule and should coast to the ACC title game where it would play someone else the Tigers will be favored to beat. That's where this in-state rivalry game could be a bit of a trap game. Clemson has won the last five pretty handily but we all just watched the Gamecocks go into Athens and beat Georgia. Who knows? We have seen Clemson struggle at times this season, and South Carolina, by the time this game rolls around , will have been in its fair share of big games against big opponents (Alabama, Georgia, Florida). This will be a test for the Tigers. 

Last year it was Michigan that had a beat on one of the coveted Playoff spots when these two historical rivals met up in the regular-season finale. We all know what happened: an embarrassing 62-39 beatdown in Columbus that left the Wolverines bruised and battered. This time around it should be Othe Buckeyes with the Playoff hopes as they head to Ann Arbor to face a Michigan team that has already suffered a humiliating defeat to Wisconsin but that could also be in the mix for a Playoff spot. Ohio State has owned this series of late, winning 14 of 15 games, but all those wins were under Urban Meyer or Jim Tressell. The one Wolverines win was with Luke Fickell as the interim coach. Can Ryan Day keep the streak alive? 

Of course there is a lot that will happen in the SEC before these two meet in the finale. Having said that, this Iron Bowl could be for the division championship and the right the play for the SEC title. Alabama has won eight of the last 11 in the rivalry, but two of those Auburn wins came while the Crimson Tide were ranked No. 1 in the country...and both of those wins came the last three times these two have played in Auburn.  

Unlike everyone else, the Big 12 championship pits the league's two best teams against each other, which makes for some interesting possibilities. Without the constraints of a divisional format, the cream should rise to the top in a true round-robin schedule. Conventional wisdom is that we will see a repeat of last year's Big 12 title tilt, with Oklahoma battling Texas for conference supremacy. Right now, it looks like Oklahoma is one of the four best teams in the country and may be the only school to realistically represent the league in the College Football Playoff. 

The way things are laying out, the winner of the Big Ten title game should find its way into the College Football Playoff. That's not just some obvious statement, as the Big Ten hasn't put anyone in the Playoff since 2016 and the conference champion hasn't made it since 2015. An Ohio State-Wisconsin rematch could make for some interesting debates about the league possibly nabbing two bids. Don't dismiss Penn State or even Michigan with a shot at winning this game.

There may be no game that will mean more to what team gets in the College Football Playoff than this Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta. Florida or Georgia should be representing the East Division, and both could find themselves in the mix should they beat whomever the West puts out there. That could be Alabama, LSU or Auburn, which all face off against each other down the stretch. What isn't a stretch is guaranteeing the winner of this game will lock down one of those Playoff spots. Maybe the loser, or someone not even playing in this game, gets another one of those bids.