Conference race update: James Madison will play for the Sun Belt championship

Amid all the chaos and uncertainty in the conference title races, one thing is certain: James Madison will play in the Sun Belt championship game.

The Dukes clinched a division title Saturday with a win over Appalachian State, plus Coastal Carolina’s loss to Georgia Southern.

Elsewhere, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech pulled off important comebacks, and Virginia and San Diego State won key games in their conference championship races.

Here’s a look at where each league title race stands. (All records are in-conference records.)

ACC

This week: Virginia knocked off Duke to hand the Blue Devils their second league loss, and Georgia Tech barely escaped against Boston College.

Standings: Georgia Tech (6-1), Virginia (6-1), SMU (5-1) and Pittsburgh (5-1) are in a four-way tie for first in the loss column.

Possible tiebreakers: There aren’t any head-to-head matchups yet among those four teams. The next tiebreakers after that involve records against common opponents, and then winning percentage of conference opponents.

Significant games this week: Pitt at Georgia Tech, Louisville at SMU.

The following week: Virginia Tech at Virginia, SMU at California, Miami at Pitt.

Betting favorite: Georgia Tech (+175 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 6 in Charlotte.

American Athletic

This week: Navy’s 41-38 win over South Florida was a blow to the Bulls’ chances of a league title and College Football Playoff berth. East Carolina stayed right in the thick of the AAC race by beating Memphis.

Standings: Navy (6-1), North Texas (5-1), Tulane (5-1) and East Carolina (5-1) are battling it out.

Possible tiebreakers: North Texas beat Navy and Tulane beat East Carolina.

Significant games this week: East Carolina at Texas-San Antonio, Tulane at Temple, North Texas at Rice.

The following week: Navy at Memphis, Temple at North Texas, East Carolina at Florida Atlantic.

Betting favorite: North Texas (-150 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 5 at the home of the higher seed.

Big 12

This week: Cincinnati took its second conference loss, falling at home to Arizona.

Standings: Texas Tech (7-1) and BYU (6-1) are followed by Cincinnati (5-2), Houston (5-2), Utah (5-2) and Arizona State (5-2).

Possible tiebreakers: Texas Tech beat BYU, Houston and Utah but lost to Arizona State. BYU beat Utah, and Utah beat Cincinnati. Houston and Utah both beat Arizona State.

Significant games this week: Kansas State at Utah, TCU at Houston, Arizona State at Colorado, BYU at Cincinnati.

The following week: Utah at Kansas, Arizona at Arizona State, UCF at BYU, Texas Tech at West Virginia, Houston at Baylor, Cincinnati at TCU.

Betting favorite: Texas Tech (-350 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 6 in Arlington, Texas.

Big Ten

This week: The beat goes on for undefeated Ohio State and Indiana, which brushed aside UCLA and Wisconsin, respectively. Michigan and Southern California had more trouble but ultimately prevailed against Northwestern and Iowa.

Standings: Indiana (8-0) and Ohio State (7-0) top the conference. Michigan (6-1), Oregon (6-1) and USC (6-1) are next in line.

Possible tiebreakers: Indiana has beaten Oregon, and USC beat Michigan.

Significant games this week: Michigan at Maryland, Rutgers at Ohio State, USC at Oregon.

The following week: Indiana at Purdue, USC at UCLA, Oregon at Washington, Ohio State at Michigan.

Betting favorite: Ohio State (-175 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 6 in Indianapolis.

Conference USA

This week: Jacksonville State beat Kennesaw State in a matchup of the last two teams that were unbeaten in Conference USA play.

Standings: Jacksonville State (6-0) leads the way, followed by Western Kentucky (6-1) and Kennesaw State (5-1). Missouri State (5-1) is not yet eligible to play in the Conference USA title game after joining the league this season.

Possible tiebreakers: Jacksonville State beat Kennesaw State.

Significant games this week: Missouri State at Kennesaw State, Jacksonville State at Florida International.

The following week: Western Kentucky at Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State at Liberty.

Betting favorite: Western Kentucky (+100 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 5 at the home of the higher seed.

Mid-American

This week: Western Michigan beat Ohio 17-13 and took sole possession of first place.

Standings: Western Michigan (5-1) is followed by a five-way tie for second between Central Michigan (4-2), Ohio (4-2), Toledo (4-2), Buffalo (4-2) and Miami of Ohio (4-2).

Possible tiebreakers: Miami beat WMU and lost to Ohio and Toledo. WMU beat Ohio, Toledo and CMU. CMU beat Buffalo.

Significant games this week: WMU at Northern Illinois, Massachusetts at Ohio, Miami at Buffalo, CMU at Kent State, Ball State at Toledo.

The following week: WMU at Eastern Michigan, Ohio at Buffalo, Ball State at Miami, Toledo at CMU.

Betting favorite: Toledo (+150 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 6 in Detroit.

Mountain West

This week: San Diego State beat Boise State with the conference lead on the line.

Standings: Much like in the MAC, San Diego State (5-1) is ahead of five second-place teams: Boise State (4-2), Hawaii (4-2), UNLV (4-2), Fresno State (4-2) and New Mexico (4-2).

Possible tiebreakers: Hawaii beat San Diego State and San Diego State beat Boise State and Fresno State. Boise State beat New Mexico and UNLV but lost to Fresno State. Hawaii lost to Fresno State. New Mexico beat UNLV.

Significant games this week: Hawaii at UNLV, Colorado State at Boise State, New Mexico at Air Force, San José State at San Diego State, Utah State at Fresno State.

The following week: San Diego State at New Mexico, Boise State at Utah State, Fresno State at San José State, UNLV at Nevada, Wyoming at Hawaii.

Betting favorite: San Diego State (-105 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 5 at the home of the higher seed.

SEC

This week: Texas A&M’s huge comeback against South Carolina kept the Aggies unbeaten. Alabama was not so fortunate in a loss to Oklahoma. Georgia emphatically beat Texas to hand the Longhorns their second conference loss.

Standings: Texas A&M (7-0) is alone in first, and Georgia (7-1) wrapped up its conference schedule with one loss. Alabama (6-1) and Mississippi (6-1) are tied for third.

Possible tiebreakers: Alabama beat Georgia and Georgia beat Mississippi, but since Alabama didn’t play Mississippi, a three-way tie for second involving those three teams would be decided by strength of schedule — the winning percentage of conference opponents.

Significant games this week: None.

The following week: Mississippi at Mississippi State, Texas A&M at Texas, Alabama at Auburn.

Betting favorite: Texas A&M (+125 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 6 in Atlanta.

Sun Belt

This week: James Madison wrapped up the East Division, but Southern Mississippi and Troy both lost to leave the West up for grabs.

Standings: Southern Miss (5-1) and Troy (4-2) still have to contend with Arkansas State (4-2) as well.

Possible tiebreakers: Southern Miss beat Arkansas State, which beat Troy.

Big games this week: Louisiana-Lafayette at Arkansas State, Southern Miss at South Alabama, Georgia State at Troy.

The following week: Arkansas State at Appalachian State, Troy at Southern Miss.

Betting favorite: James Madison (-700 according to BetMGM Sportsbook)

Title game: Dec. 5 at the home of the higher seed.

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