On Saturday there were two division crowns awarded. No. 1 Clemson grabbed the ACC Atlantic Division championship by pulling away from No. 16 Florida State in Death Valley, sending the Tigers to Charlotte for the ACC Championship Game for the first time since 2011. In the SEC, No. 10 Florida won a defensive battle against Vanderbilt to wrap up the SEC East championship for the first time since 2009. It will be the 11th time Florida will play for an SEC title, which is more than any other team in the SEC. No other SEC team has played in more than nine championship games, although No. 4 Alabama can enter double-digits with the SEC West title this season. That appears to be a more likely scenario now given Saturday’s developments.
Here is a look at the latest power conference division races coming down the stretch of November.
ACC COASTAL
While Clemson still has some games to play, the Tigers now wait to learn who their opponent will be in the ACC Championship Game. North Carolina is now in the driver’s seat in the ACC Coastal after dispatching of Duke yesterday, a week after topping Pittsburgh. The Tar Heels are 5-0 in ACC play with games against Miami, Virginia Tech and North Carolina State still to be played. Winning two of the final three will clinch the division regardless of what happens elsewhere due to a head-to-head tiebreaker with Pitt. UNC has a two-game lead on Duke and Miami. If Larry Fedora keeps the Tar Heel chugging along offensively as they have, UNC will make their first appearance in the ACC Championship Game this season. Miami can still win the division with a win against UNC, but the Hurricanes would need UNC to lose one more time while Miami wins their final games against Georgia Tech and at Pittsburgh.
Duke and Pittsburgh play this week in Durham. The winner will keep ACC Coastal hopes alive, but a loss will eliminate Duke from the race. Pitt can still survive a loss, but it would be one very thin ice.
BIG TEN EAST
Michigan State’s shocking and controversial loss to Nebraska does not really change the outlook in the Big Ten East just yet, but it means the Spartans absolutely have to beat Ohio State on November 21. The Buckeyes now have a one-game lead in the division, with a one-game buffer ahead of the Spartans and Michigan. Ohio State still has to play both, so the Big Ten East is still up for grabs. The division is now a three-team race between Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan, as Penn State was eliminated from the race with a loss at Northwestern (they were not likely to contend for the division, but now it is mathematically impossible). This division race will be settled in the final two weeks of the regular season.
BIG TEN WEST
After getting out of Bloomington with a win yesterday, Iowa remains on top of the Big Ten West with an undefeated record. Iowa owns a one-game lead in the division on Wisconsin, but the Hawkeyes also have a nice head-to-head tiebreaker on the Badgers, so it is really a two-game lead in the division. Iowa also has wins against Northwestern and Illinois. Wisconsin will keep the p[ressure on for Iowa, but the Hawkeyes are two wins away or a win and Wisconsin loss away from taking the Big Ten West and making its first appearance in the Big Ten championship game. Iowa has home games against Minnesota and Purdue next before closing out the regular season at Nebraska. Wisconsin needs to win their final two games and have Iowa lose two of their final three games. That is not impossible.
Northwestern can still win the division if Iowa loses the final three games and the Wildcats avoid a loss. Northwestern would need Wisconsin to lose one more game, and the two play on November 21.
PAC-12 NORTH
Stanford is one win away or one Oregon loss away from clinching the division. As fate would have it, Stanford hosts Oregon this week. If Stanford wins, they will be in the Pac-12 Championship Game with a game still to play against Cal and a regular season finale against Notre Dame in Palo Alto. If Stanford gets by Oregon, the Notre Dame game could potentially be a playoff elimination game before the Cardinal reach the conference championship game.
Oregon can still win the division but it must beat Stanford this week and win its final games against USC and Oregon State while hoping Cal upsets Stanford.
PAC-12 SOUTH
Utah is still on top after getting by Washington Saturday night, but it must keep the foot on the gas pedal until the end. Utah must get by Arizona and UCLA to stay on top of the division and wrap up a spot in the Pac-12 championship game. UCLA can seize control of the division with a win against Utah on November 21, if they avoid an upset by Washington State this week that is. USC is still in the mix if Utah stumbles, but the Trojans have to beat Oregon and UCLA (and avoid an upset at Colorado) to get to their first Pac-12 championship game.
SEC WEST
Florida has the East taken care of, so the attention shifts to the SEC West. A potential disaster scenario seems to be fading after Ole Miss took a loss this weekend against Arkansas. Alabama, with a win against LSU, is now in control of the SEC West. Alabama has just two conference games remaining, including this week’s road game at Mississippi State. Avoid a loss against the Bulldogs and Alabama can win the division title in the Iron Bowl against Auburn, if it is not clinched in the week leading up to the game. Alabama could actually clinch the division this week with a win over Mississippi State and an LSU loss at home against Arkansas or next week at Ole Miss while Alabama is taking on Charleston Southern.
WHAT ABOUT THE BIG 12?
There may be no division races in the Big 12, but the conference race is just heating up. TCU may have taken a hit against Oklahoma State, but the Big 12 race is still too difficult to predict with all of the big games still to be played. Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and TCU all still have a chance to win at least a share of the conference championship. Baylor and Oklahoma State are the last of the unbeaten teams in conference play, while TCU and Oklahoma each have one loss in Big 12 action.