As we get set to embark on Week 8 of the 2016 college football season, we’re officially beyond the halfway point and closer to championship weekend than we are to opening weekend. And, with that, the Power Five conference races are starting to come into focus -- but are far from finished.
This weekend, though, there are a handful of key matchups that could offer further clarity across the major conferences, although most, if not all, are still weeks away from being decided.
That said, here’s a look at where the Power Five conferences and, in four of the five cases, how their respective divisions stand before the eighth weekend of the regular season kicks off.
ACC ATLANTIC
At 4-0, Clemson currently controls its own destiny in the division courtesy of the Oct. 1 win over 3-1 Louisville. The U of L will be desperately rooting for Florida State, at 2-2 with one of those league losses coming at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium in the middle of last month, to knock off Clemson next Saturday as well as the Tigers tripping up in one of their other three remaining conference games (Syracuse, Pitt, at Wake Forest) while also holding serve through the remainder of their slate. FSU, with league losses to the U of L and North Carolina, will need a minor miracle to get back to the conference championship game.
Technically, 2-2 Wake Forest remains in contention, and still has games against Clemson and Louisville. Then again, they’re Wake.
ACC COASTAL
In all likelihood, the Coastal will come down to a three-team race: 3-1 North Carolina, 3-1 Virginia Tech and 2-1 Pittsburgh. Tech has already beaten UNC, and will face Pitt next weekend. The Tar Heels, meanwhile, own a win over the Panthers to go along with the loss to the Hokies. Simply put, if Tech wins out (at Pitt, at Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia), they will claim the division and represent the Coastal against their Atlantic counterparts.
As you know, though, this division very rarely plays to the form it presents halfway through the conference season.
BIG TEN EAST
With all due respect to 2-1 Penn State, 3-0 Michigan and 3-0 Ohio State are on a collision course for an epic edition of the greatest rivalry in all of college football that will likely not only impact the division and the conference race but the College Football Playoff as well. PSU could make me eat my words almost immediately as they play host to OSU in the always-dangerous white-out game later tonight; that said, if the Buckeyes can get past the Nittany Lions, they’ll have to traverse home games against Northwestern and Nebraska as well as road trips to Maryland and an abruptly vulnerable Michigan State before hosting UM. The Wolverines get to host Illinois, Maryland and Indiana along with visits to rival Michigan State and Iowa before The Game.
BIG TEN WEST
Like the ACC Coastal, this division’s winner will very (?) likely come from a trio of teams: 3-0 Nebraska, 3-1 Iowa, 2-1 Northwestern. The Cornhuskers already have a win over the Wildcats, while the Wildcats beat the Hawkeyes on the road the first weekend of this month. Nebraska will close out the season against Iowa, while the latter has one sizable advantage over the other two as they avoid Ohio State completely while the others will face the Buckeyes in Weeks 9 (Wildcats) and 10 (Cornhuskers). Both of those games, incidentally, are in Columbus.
There’s a potential wrench that could be tossed into the race, it should be noted, as 1-2 Wisconsin still has games remaining against all three of the West teams mentioned above. Sweep those and get a little additional help, and the Badgers could be right back in the discussion by the end of the regular season.
BIG 12
Next season, this conference’s champion will be decided by a league title game. This season, the standard round-robin format will determine the champion, and, because of that and the way the schedule is constructed, this league is as convoluted as any in the sport.
Three members are undefeated at the moment in Baylor and Oklahoma at 3-0, West Virginia at 2-0. Two others are 2-1 -- Oklahoma State and TCU. How convoluted is the current state of the Big 12 race? Just two games have been played between those five teams thus far: Baylor beating Oklahoma State and Oklahoma beating TCU. A third will be played this weekend as the Horned Frogs will travel to Morgantown to face the Mountaineers in a contest that will allow a little -- little -- clarity when it comes to the conference race.
PAC-12 NORTH
This could be the most simplistic of all the P5 divisions: barring something extraordinary taking place, the winner of this division will be decided in the Apple Cup between a 3-0 Washington and a 3-0 Washington State. Or, at the very least, the winner will play in that rivalry game. And, of all the developments thus far this season, that may be the most stunning. To put a finer point on this divisional race, the team currently in third place at 2-2, 2015 Pac-12 champion Stanford, lost to both UW and Wazzu by a combined score of 86-22.
PAC-12 SOUTH
Utah and Colorado are tied atop this division at 3-1, with 3-2 USC still in the same neighborhood. The Utes own a win over the Trojans, while the Trojans own one over the Buffs. Utah and USC still have Washington on their schedule, while Colorado, which avoids UW, has to play a Washington State team that won’t face either of the other. One date to circle on the calendar: Nov. 26, with the Utes traveling to Boulder to square off with the Buffs in the regular season finale.
A lot like the Big 12, this race likely won’t be decided until we get deep into November.
SEC EAST
Despite its loss to 2-2 Tennessee, 3-1 Florida controls its own destiny in this division. Win out, and the Gators will earn their second consecutive berth in the SEC championship game. Their remaining league schedule? The annual World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party grudge match with Georgia in Jacksonville, and road trips to No. 17 Arkansas and No. 25 LSU sandwiched around a home game against South Carolina. UT, though, could easily win out as their lone remaining games consist of South Carolina, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. While the Gators are currently in control, their path to Atlanta is much steeper than that of the Vols despite currently sitting in the driver’s seat -- and knowing full well that that come-from-ahead loss to UT is riding shotgun.
SEC WEST
This might be the most fun division in all of college football. Again. Alabama and Texas A&M both sit at 4-0, while Auburn and LSU are at 2-1. The really, really fun part? Only A&M and Auburn have met already this year, a Sept. 17 win for the Aggies on The Plains. The Tide and Aggies meet in a critical matchup this afternoon, but several more critical contests await the division in the coming weeks.
In other words, grab your popcorn. This thing is far from decided -- a sentiment that’s far from the exclusive property of this division.
