Conference championship week is coming up this weekend. This past week, the top two teams, Alabama and Miami, were defeated in astonishing upsets. Number one Alabama fell to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, as Auburn controlled play on their home turf and clinched the SEC West, leaving Alabama out of the SEC Championship game for the first time since 2013. Georgia now has an opportunity to avenge their lone loss of the season, which was to Auburn in a rout at Jordan-Hare Stadium. Auburn will have a chance to be the first two-loss team to make the College Football Playoff. Considering they upset the number one team in the nation twice this year, it would not be hard to see why.

The Big Ten Championship game will feature Wisconsin and Ohio State. If Wisconsin beats Ohio State, they will have that ‘marquee’ win on their resume that they are missing. Ohio State could play the role of playoff spoilers to the Badgers, and they are seemingly capable of doing so with the imminent return of J.T. Barrett. The Big Ten has a rather large disparity, in terms of their teams’ quality and records, between their East and West divisions, with the East being much stronger than the West. Thus, Ohio State has had a much tougher schedule and could sneak into the playoff with an impressionable win.

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Meanwhile, the Big 12’s playoff chances are lying solely on Oklahoma. The Big 12 Championship game might actually hurt their chances if they lose. The playoff committee would likely put other teams, like Auburn or Georgia, ahead of a two-loss Big 12 champion. This would additionally open the door for Alabama.

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The ACC championship game is another game that can change the playoff picture. Clemson will is currently the number one team in the country, while Miami fell to number seven after their upset loss in Pittsburgh. Essentially, the ACC Championship will serve as a play-in game for the playoff.

Out in the west, the Pac 12 is hanging on to the small chance that USC can somehow make the playoff. Washington State got knocked out, as they didn’t make the conference championship game after their loss to Washington. Otherwise, it looks like the Pac 12 will be left out of the playoffs. UCF is the only other undefeated team besides Wisconsin left. Their lackluster strength of schedule ranking will keep them out, but they might make a New Year’s Six game, maybe the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl.

This upcoming week will certainly have playoff implications and could shake the very foundation of College Football.