Storylines of note in the conference championship games

Power 5 wise, the conference championship games begin tonight when USC faces Utah in Las Vegas on Fox for the Pac 12 title. They continue tomorrow, starting with Kansas State vs. TCU in the Big 12 title game on ABC at 11 a.m. Then, the SEC championship game between Georgia and LSU kicks off at 3:00 p.m. on CBS. The festivities conclude at 7 p.m. when Clemson takes on North Carolina for the ACC title and when Michigan battles Purdue for the Big 10 championship.

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The Group of 5 has its conference title games as well, whether its Conference-USA tonight at 6:30 p.m., the MAC tomorrow at 11 a.m., the Sun Belt at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, or the American, the Mountain West and the SWAC at 3:00 p.m.

It’s one of the most exhilarating weekends of the year, and it’ll all lead up to the College Football Playoff Selection show on Sunday. Here are a few things to watch in each game.

Pac 12: No. 4 USC vs. No. 11 Utah – Fri. 7:00 p.m. on Fox

These two teams met in mid-October in a thriller. Utah scored a touchdown with under a minute left to pull within one of the Trojans and Ute head coach Kyle Whittingham elected to go for the win. As he had the play prior, Cam Rising found the end zone to give the Utes a one-point victory.

Rising and his counterpart Caleb Williams will be the key factors in this one. Each team accounted for over 550 yards of total offense, with both Williams and Rising scoring five touchdowns apiece.

This could end up as the final stamp needed for Williams to seal the Heisman and a return to glory for USC under first-year head coach Lincoln Riley, if it goes USC’s way.

Big 12: No. 3 TCU vs. No. 10 Kansas State – Sat. 11 a.m. on ABC

During the first matchup between the Big 12’s purple institutions, K-State went down to its third string quarterback after Will Howard was knocked out and Adrian Martinez was ineffective against the Horned Frog defense. This time, Howard enters as the unquestioned signal-caller for K-State, and Chris Klieman’s team looks a lot different with him at the helm.

TCU is looking for its first College Football Playoff appearance in program history after coming so incredibly close in 2014. Led by another Heisman candidate in Max Duggan, Sonny Dykes’ Frogs are operating at a level only matched among first-year coaches by Riley at USC.

Both teams operate the 3-3-5 flyover defense, so who can succeed against a style seen in practice most days will determine this one. Each team has playmakers who simply need the smallest of openings to hit the jackpot. Who cuts those down defensively most will likely win the game.

SEC: No. 1 Georgia vs. No. 14 LSU – Sat. 3:00 p.m. on CBS

Georgia is looking to make back-to-back playoff appearances but also take home its first SEC title since 2017, no small achievement even for the heaviest hitter in the country. LSU is looking to upset the playoff picture. They won’t make it in with a win themselves as their loss to Texas A&M ended any chance of that happening, but they are trying to make progress under Brian Kelly in his first season that would show Scott Woodward’s investment is paying immediate dividends.

Jayden Daniels will play at quarterback for the Tigers, so his ability to stay upright and also punish the Bulldog defense for any missteps will be key. If not, the Stetson Bennett led, or rather the Brock Bowers led Dawgs will lock up the No. 1 spot. A fun battle that could come to fruition in this game is Bowers versus LSU star freshman Harold Perkins.

ACC: No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 23 North Carolina – Sat. 7:00 p.m. on ABC

It speaks to the quality of Clemson’s program (and also maybe to the quality of the ACC) that Dabo Swinney’s system, which is so focused on what occurs inside its walls, can show obvious cracks yet still make it to the conference title game as a top 10 team.

Mack Brown looks for his third conference championship as a head coach to go with his two Big 12 titles at Texas won in 2005 and 2009. This 9-3 campaign is his best regular season mark in his second stint at North Carolina.

This one could be a high scoring affair. Gene Chizik(!!!) and his defense have not had the best of seasons, but neither has Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei. UNC quarterback Drake Maye could be heading to New York as a Heisman finalist, and the Tiger defense without Brent Venables has taken a hit in Clemson, S.C.

Big 10: No. 2 Michigan vs. Purdue – Sat. 7:00 p.m. on Fox

The only matchup among the Power 5 games that features an unranked team, Michigan looks to grab a place at the playoff table and the Big 10 championship in back-to-back seasons.

The Wolverines will be without the services of Blake Corum, but if the Michigan run game versus Ohio State is any indicator, Jim Harbaugh’s team should be able to manage without the All-American rusher.

Purdue has solid offensive playmakers in Aidan O’Connell at quarterback, Charlie Jones at receiver, and Devin Mockobee at running back. Will it be enough to overcome Michigan, who likely has major advantages in all three phases?

A win would be a major coup for the Boilermakers, who have only one conference title in 50 seasons. It might also not upset the playoff picture too much. But their task may be a hill to steep to climb.