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Army, Arizona State, Oregon and SMU are all headed to to the championship games of their respective new conferences.
The final conference championship game to be decided on Saturday had nothing to do with either team that was playing as BYU's late 30-18 home final over Houston sent Iowa State to the Big 12 title game against Arizona State.
Earlier in the day, Miami blew its chance to clinch an ACC bid opposite SMU by coughing up a 21-0 lead and losing 42-38 at Syracuse, thus handing that bid to Clemson. The Tigers, after also losing 17-14 at home to South Carolina, needed a new lease on their CFP playoff life and got it, courtesy of the 'Canes. SMU, meanwhile, finished its first season in the ACC with an 8-0 league mark by spanking Cal 38-6 in Dallas.
Oregon was the only FBS team to run its entire slate as the Ducks improved to 12-0 with a 49-21 home win over Washington.
Army will host Tulane in the ACC Championship by virtue of its 29-24 home win over UTSA on Saturday after the Green Wave lost 34-24 at home to Memphis on Thanksgiving Day.
Here is how it all played out on the final weekend of the regular season.
Where: Charlotte
When: Saturday, 12/7 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC
Clinched: SMU (11-1, 8-0) vs. Clemson (9-3, 7-1)
Miami lost 42-38 at Syracuse to get bounced from the ACC Championship and allow Clemson to sneak in through the backdoor.
Clemson lost 17-14 at home to South Carolina, but that didn't affect the Tigers' ACC title chances. They still needed Miami to lose at Syracuse to set up a match with SMU and have ANY shot at making the 12-team playoff field. SMU finished a perfect inaugural ACC season with a 38-6 win at home over Cal.
Speaking of perfection, Oregon concluded a 12-0 regular season with a 49-21 home win over Washington. The Ducks, who are the only FBS team to run their entire slate in 2024, will face Penn State in the B1G Championship game because Ohio State was a stunning 13-10 loser at home to Michigan,
SMU and Oregon are not the only teams who clinched championship berths in their first year in a new conference,
Arizona State did the same thing in the Big 12
Where: Army (West Point, NY)
When: Friday, 12/6 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC
Clinched: Tulane (9-3, 7-1) at Army (10-1, 8-0)
Tulane lost 34-24 at home to Memphis on Thanksgiving night.
Army was a 29-24 winner at home over UTSA on Saturday and will host Tulane in conference title game.
Where: Indianapolis
When: Saturday, 12/7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Clinched: Oregon (12-0, 9-0) vs. Penn State (11-1, 8-1)
The last three teams in contention to face Oregon had games in succession on Saturday.
First, Ohio State (10-2, 7-2) lost 13-10 at home to Michigan to be eliminated from the B1G title game.
Next, Penn State was a 44-7 runaway winner at home over Maryland to clinch the second berth in the B1G Championship.
Indiana trounced rival Purdue 66-0 at home, but they had already been eliminated from the conference title game by PSU's win. Still, the Hoosiers finished the season with a remarkable record of 11-1 over-all, and 8-1 in the B1G.
The Ducks were 49-21 winners over Washington to complete the only undefeated regular season in the FBS this year.
Where: Arlington
When: Saturday, 12/7 at 12 p.m. ET on ABC.
Clinched: Arizona State (10-2, 7-2) vs. Iowa State (10-2, 7-2)
Arizona State won a 49-7 rout at Arizona and later clinched a berth in the BIG 12 title game when TCU won 20-13 at Cincinnati.
Iowa State (10-2, 7-2) was a 29-21 winner at home over Kansas State (8-4, 5-4).
BYU (9-2, 6-2), which was eliminated with Iowa State's win, went on to beat Houston 30-18 at home in one of the last games to go final on Saturday night. The win by the Cougars gave Iowa State passage to the Big 12 Championship game.
If BYU had lost to Houston, then Arizona State and Colorado would have played in the title game as the Buffaloes would have earned the tiebreaker over Iowa State due to Texas Tech beating West Virginia on Saturday.
That's how crazy the Big 12 race was - right down to one of the very last games to go final - on the final weekend.
According to the conference, there were 256 combinations that could play out when we entered the weekend, and 8 teams were mathematically alive. The only reason there weren't nine teams available was that Texas Tech and West Virginia were meeting each other with the loser completely out of the picture. Texas Tech won that game convincing, 52-15.
But Colorado had already won 52-0 at home over Oklahoma State on Friday so the Buffaloes' win eliminated TCU, Texas Tech and WVU from the conference championship chase.
Six teams were still alive going into Saturday's games -- Baylor, BYU, Colorado, Arizona State, Iowa State, Kansas State.
Baylor (8-4, 6-3) rolled to a 45-17 win at home over Kansas on Saturday. The 6th straight win by the Bears kept the Jayhawks from reaching 6 wins.
Where: Jacksonville, AL
When: Friday, 12/6 at 7 p.m. ET on CBSSN.
Clinched: WKU (8-4, 6-2) at Jax State (8-4, 7-1)
WKU defeated Jax State 19-17 on a 50-yard FG with 3 seconds left. The same teams will meet at Jax State for the CUSA title.
Sam Houston would've been in had Jax State won.
Where: Detroit
When: Saturday, 12/7 at 12 p.m. ET on ESPN
Clinched: Ohio (9-3, 7-1) vs. Miami (8-4, 7-1)
Miami won 28-12 at BGSU on Friday to clinch one spot, and Ohio was a 42-21 winner at home over Ball State on Friday to clinch the other.
Where: Boise
When: Friday, 12/6 at 8 p.m. ET on FOX
Clinched: UNLV (10-2, 6-1) at Boise State (11-1, 7-0)
Boise State, which is playing for a National Championship playoff bid as much as anything, was a 34-18 winner at home on Friday in a non-conference game versus Oregon State.
Colorado State won 42-37 at home over Utah State on Friday. Leading 42-30, CSU gave up a TD with 14 seconds left and the Aggies recovered the onside kick but threw a pick to end the game.
UNLV won 38-14 at home over Nevada. Because Colorado State and UNLV did not meet in the regular season, the tie was broken by the playoff committee rankings which had UNLV at No. 22 and CSU unranked.
Where: Atlanta
When: Saturday, 12/7, at 4 p.m. ET on ABC
Clinched: Georgia (10-2, 6-2) vs. Texas (11-1, 7-1)
The SEC Championship is set after Texas was a 17-7 winner at Texas A&M. The Longhorns will face Georgia for a second time this season after losing 30-15 at home to the Bulldogs back on October 19 for their only loss of the season.
Georgia won an 8-OT thriller, 44-42, at home over Georgia Tech to keep its national title hopes alive.
Where: Lafayette
When: Saturday, 12/7, at 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
Clinched: Marshall (9-3, 7-1 East) at Louisiana (10-2, 7-1 West)
Four teams were in contention for the 2024 Hercules Tires Sun Belt Football Championship heading into the final weekend of the regular season. It
Louisiana clinched without yet playing because Texas State eliminated South Alabama with the 45-38 win in Mobile on Friday.
Marshall clinched on Saturday by rallying to a 35-33 double-overtime win at JMU after trailing 17-0.
Earlier in the day, Louisiana was a 37-23 winner at UL-Monroe.
SEE: Odds, Computer picks
FBS schools were 115-6 in FBS-FCS games this season, and are a cumulative 1,915-158 (.924) since we began tracking this in 2003.
In 2024, there were 121 matchups scheduled between FBS and FCS schools with 119 playing one such game, while Hawaii and UMass each play two.
15 schools were not scheduled to play a FCS opponent. Of those fifteen schools, 5 are in the B1G (Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, USC and UCLA). Texas is the only school in the SEC that will not play a FCS program. The same is true for Virginia Tech in the ACC. In fact, Texas and Virginia Tech, along with Michigan and Houston, were repeats from the list of schools in 2023 that played all FBS programs.
2024 FCS wins vs. FBS:
August 24: Montana State 35, New Mexico 31
September 7: St. Francis (PA) 23, Kent State 17
September 7: Idaho 17, Wyoming 13
September 7: Southern Utah 27, UTEP 24 (OT)
September 21: Monmouth 45, FIU 42
September 28: UT-Martin 24, Kennesaw 13
In 2023, FBS schools were 114-4. These were the FCS wins last year:
September 9: Idaho 33, Nevada 6
September 9: Southern Illinois 14, Northern Illinois 12
September 9: Fordham 40, Buffalo 37
September 16: Sacramento State 30, Stanford 23
OREGON - Won 18 straight regular season games. Won 13 straight over-all.
Last: Won 49-21 at home over Washington on Saturday, November 30.
Next: Plays Penn State in B1G Championship on Saturday, December 7 in Atlanta.
GEORGIA - Won 31 straight home games.
Last: Won 44-42 (8 OT) at home over Georgia Tech on Friday November 29.
Next: SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7 vs. Texas.
TULANE - Had won 19 straight conference games.
Last: Lost 34-24 at home to Memphis on Thursday, November 28.
Next: Will visit for the AAC Championship on Friday, December 6.
BOISE STATE - Won 11 straight conference games.
Last: Won 34-18 at home vs. Oregon State on Friday, November 29.
Next: Will host Mountain West Championship game on Friday, December 6 at 8 vs. UNLV.
TEXAS - Won 11 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - tied with SMU.
Last: Won 17-7 at Texas A&M on Saturday November 30.
Next: SEC Championship in Atlanta on Saturday, December 7 vs. Georgia.
SMU - Won 10 straight true road games (at opposition venue) - second to Texas.
Last - Won 38-6 at home over Cal on Saturday November 30.
Next: ACC Championship vs. Clemson in Charlotte on Saturday, December 7.
KENT STATE - Lost 21 straight over-all. Lost 16 straight conference games. Lost 14 straight road games. Lost 9 straight home games.
Last: Lost 43-7 at Buffalo on Tuesday November 26.
Next: Season complete (0-12, 0-8 MAC).
TEMPLE - Lost 20 straight true road games.
Last: Lost 24-17 at home to North Texas on Saturday November 30.
Next: Season complete (3-9, 2-6 AAC)