Nick BrombergSenior writerSun, November 30, 2025 at 4:37 AM UTC·10 min readCan you believe the 2025 college football regular season is over?
Just one team (sorry, UMass) finished without a win this season while two teams (No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana) didn't lose a single game. All nine conference title-game matchups are set for Friday and Saturday and there are some good ones. The winner of the American Conference title game will go to the College Football Playoff while a Duke win in the ACC title game could potentially exclude the conference from the 12-team playoff altogether.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHere's a look at every conference title game matchup.
American
North Texas at No. 24 Tulane (8 p.m. ET Dec. 5, ABC)
The Green Wave earned the right to host the game thanks to their spot in the College Football Playoff rankings. Tulane, North Texas and Navy all ended the season at 7-1 in American Conference play. But Tulane won the three-team tiebreaker with its place in the rankings and North Texas took down Navy in their head-to-head matchup. The game could also be a matchup of coaches with new jobs, too. UNT coach Eric Morris is heading to Oklahoma State after the season. Tulane coach Jon Sumrall could be coaching for an SEC team in 2026.
ACC
No. 18 Virginia vs. Duke (8 p.m. ET, Dec. 6, ABC)
The Cavaliers clinched a spot in the ACC title game with a win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. Duke took down Wake Forest and got into the title game thanks to No. 21 SMU’s loss at Cal after a game-tying 52-yard field goal sailed wide with three seconds to go.
The Blue Devils are 7-5. If they win the conference title game, could the ACC be left out of the College Football Playoff altogether? Don’t rule it out if James Madison wins the Sun Belt. That’s the nightmare scenario for the conference in what’s been a down year overall for the ACC with the declines of Clemson and Florida State in 2025. The Tigers and Seminoles went just 12-12 combined as FSU will miss a bowl game for the second straight season.
Big 12
No. 5 Texas Tech vs. No. 11 BYU (Noon ET Dec. 6, ABC)
No tiebreakers were needed in the Big 12 as these two teams were the only ones to finish with 8-1 records. Tech easily beat BYU 29-7 earlier in November and will be a heavy favorite. If BYU wins, the Big 12 is probably getting two teams in the College Football Playoff.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementBig Ten
No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana (8 p.m. ET Dec. 6, Fox)
The last two remaining unbeaten teams in college football are in the Big Ten. The winner of the title game will get the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff, though the loser will also likely get a bye. If the loser drops to No. 4 in the final CFP rankings, we could see these two teams meet again in the semifinals.
Conference USA
Kennesaw State at Jacksonville State (7 p.m. ET Dec. 5, CBS Sports Network)
JSU beat Western Kentucky 37-34 on Saturday to earn the right to host the conference title game. Both teams finished at 7-1 in conference play but Jacksonville State beat Kennesaw State 35-26 in the regular season. It’s a heck of a debut season for coach Charles Kelly in the longtime assistant coach’s first season ever as a head coach.
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Western Michigan vs. Miami (Ohio) (Noon ET Dec. 6, ESPN)
The Broncos finished with the best record in the MAC at 7-1 in conference play. Their only loss? A 26-17 defeat to the RedHawks. Miami tied for second at 6-2 with Toledo and Ohio but lost to both of those teams. However, since Ohio and Toledo didn’t play each other, Miami earned a third straight conference title game berth.
Mountain West
2 of New Mexico, San Diego State, Boise State and UNLV (Dec. 5, Fox)
We’ll know the Mountain West matchup on Sunday as computer rankings will determine the two participants. All four teams finished tied at 6-2 in conference play after New Mexico beat San Diego State. However, we have a sneaking suspicion that both UNM and SDSU will be the teams left out of the conference title game.
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Alabama vs. Georgia (4 p.m. ET Dec. 6, ABC)
Look who meets again in the SEC title game. It's the fourth matchup between UGA and Alabama since 2018. Georgia is comfortably in the playoff even if it loses a second game to Alabama. Is the Tide in the playoff even with a loss to Georgia? Alabama entered Saturday as the last at-large team in the provisional 12-team field. A third loss could knock Alabama out of the field altogether.
Sun Belt
James Madison vs. Troy (7 p.m. ET, Dec. 5, ESPN)
The Dukes will have a chance to sit back and cheer like crazy for Duke in the ACC title game if they beat Troy on Friday. It’s hard to see how an 8-5 Duke would be ranked ahead of a 12-1 JMU team that finished the season on an 11-game win-streak. JMU dominated Coastal Carolina 59-10 on Saturday and won all but two of its conference games by multiple scores. JMU’s only loss this season came in a 28-14 defeat at Louisville in Week 2. The Cardinals finished the 2025 season at 8-4.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWinners
Houston: The Cougars finished the season at 9-3 after a 31-24 road win vs. Baylor on Saturday. Texas A&M transfer Conner Weigman threw for a TD and rushed for 121 yards and two scores as Houston denied Baylor the chance to go to a bowl game. The Cougars went 4-8 in their first two seasons in the Big 12 before winning seven of their first eight games of the 2025 season. If it wasn’t for a 45-35 loss at West Virginia, Houston would be ranked in the top 20 of the CFP rankings.
Vanderbilt: The No. 14 Commodores are likely to find themselves out of the College Football Playoff, but they tried their best to make an at-large case over the final two weekends of the season. After a blowout win over Kentucky in Week 13, Vandy throttled No. 19 Tennessee 45-24 to get the first 10-win season in school history. Diego Pavia threw two interceptions but he passed for 268 yards and a score while rushing for 165 more and another touchdown. Don’t be surprised when Pavia is announced as a Heisman finalist on Dec. 8.
Boston College: The Eagles (2-10) capped an otherwise horrific season with a 34-12 road win over Syracuse on Saturday. Boston College had lost 10 straight entering Week 14 and didn’t have a win over an FBS team before taking down the Orange. RB Turbo Richard ran 15 times for 102 yards and two scores while Jordan McDonald also added two other rushing TDs. The defense held Syracuse to just 254 yards as Richard and McDonald scored their TDs in the second half to turn a tie game into a blowout.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementLouisiana: The Ragin’ Cajuns got bowl eligible with a 30-27 overtime win over Louisiana Monroe. It’s an incredible comeback for postseason game for Louisiana after it was 2-6 following a loss to Troy. The Ragin’ Cajuns beat South Alabama, Texas State, Arkansas State and ULM by a combined 19 points to get to .500 and ensure a spot in a bowl game.
Kennesaw State: A year ago, the Owls beat Liberty to get their first win as an FBS program amid a 2-10 debut season at the top level of college football. Saturday, KSU beat Liberty 48-42 in double overtime to clinch a spot in the Conference USA title game and cap a 9-3 regular season. QB Amari Odom was 14-of-23 passing for 240 yards and four touchdowns and also rushed for another score. His 25-yard pass to Christian Moss in the second overtime won the game. Liberty, meanwhile, fell to 4-8 in the school’s worst season since joining the top level of college football in 2018.
Losers
Florida State: The Seminoles needed a win over Florida to get to a bowl game. They did not get that win. They did not come close to getting that win. The Gators won 40-21 at home to drop FSU to 5-7 overall and 0-5 away from home in 2025. Florida State cut Florida’s lead to 17-14 at halftime before the Seminoles were outscored 23-7 in the second half. Florida rushed for 272 yards as Jaden Baugh had 38 carries for 266 yards and two scores. It’s the second straight season without a bowl for FSU as coach Mike Norvell will return in 2025.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOklahoma State: Another disastrous season is over in Stillwater. Oklahoma State lost 20-13 to Iowa State to finish 1-11 overall and 0-9 in the Big 12 for the second straight season. Counting the 2023 Big 12 title game, Oklahoma State has lost 19 straight conference games dating back to a double-overtime win over BYU on Nov. 25, 2023. The Cowboys already have their next coach in North Texas head coach Eric Morris, but Morris has a massive rebuilding job ahead of him to make OSU competitive again in the Big 12.
South Carolina: Yes, the Gamecocks had one of the toughest schedules in college football. But that’s not the only way to explain how South Carolina went 4-8 in 2025. USC lost 28-14 at home to Clemson on Saturday as the Tigers shut out the Gamecocks in the second half and forced four turnovers. It was a needed win for Clemson as the Tigers are guaranteed a winning season at 7-5. South Carolina, meanwhile, heads toward the 2026 season with lots of questions, especially on offense. Who will run the offense after coordinator Mike Shula was fired midseason? And will QB LaNorris Sellers return after a disappointing 2025 following his breakthrough 2024 campaign?
Kentucky: Two weeks ago, Kentucky was 5-5 and a win away from an improbable bowl. Instead, Kentucky is 5-7 and lost its last two games by a combined 86-17. After losing 45-17 to Vanderbilt, the Wildcats lost 41-0 at Louisville on Saturday to ensure they wouldn’t make a bowl game. Mark Stoops said after the game that there was “zero chance” he’d walk away from the job and we can’t blame him. His buyout is nearly $40 million. Why leave of your own accord when you can pocket tens of millions and get fired instead? Stoops obviously doesn’t want to get fired, but he’s got some serious work to do to put Kentucky into the upper half of the SEC.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementUTSA: The Roadrunners’ home conference win streak is over. Entering Saturday, UTSA had won 26 straight home games against conference opponents dating back to the school’s time in Conference USA. That streak ended with a 27-24 win by Army that made the Black Knights bowl eligible and dropped UTSA to 6-6. TE Parker Poloskey caught the go-ahead score for the Black Knights with 2:49 to go. Why is that remarkable? Poloskey’s catch was the first TD pass to an Army tight end since 2008. People born on Jan. 1, 2008, are eligible to vote in just over a month.
Cincinnati: The Bearcats had a chance to get to the Big 12 title game just two weeks ago. Instead, Cincy is ending the regular season on a four-game losing streak. Cincinnati dropped to 7-5 overall with a 45-23 loss at TCU on Saturday as the Horned Frogs had 544 total yards of offense. QB Josh Hoover shredded Cincinnati’s defense with 306 passing yards on 19 completions and 22 attempts and also threw for four touchdowns. After stringing seven straight wins together following a Week 1 loss to Nebraska, Cincinnati lost to Utah, Arizona, BYU and TCU to end the season and only one — a 30-24 loss to the Wildcats — was by one possession.
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