Around CFB: Conference championship matchups coming into focus

The “Power 5” divisional races are coming into focus.

Alabama has won the SEC West. Georgia has won the SEC East.

Northwestern won the Big Ten West. The East Division will be decided when Ohio State and Michigan square off.

Clemson has clinched the ACC Atlantic Division. Meanwhile, Pitt can clinch the Coastal with one more win or one more loss by Virginia.

Next week’s Apple Cup showdown between Washington and Washington State will determine the Pac-12 North winner.

It’s all pretty simple.

Then there is the Pac-12 South race picture, which has become significantly blurred in recent weeks. Utah (7-3, 5-3), Arizona State (6-4, 4-3) and even Arizona (5-5, 4-3) all have realistic hopes of winning the South and advancing to Santa Clara for the Pac-12 title game.

Utah has led the race most of the season, but lost to Arizona State 38-20 on Nov. 3. Therefore, the Sun Devils have a tie-breaker if both teams finish deadlocked. The Utes need a win over fading Colorado, which has lost five straight, to keep its hopes alive.

However, they are without star quarterback Tyler Huntley, who suffered a broken collarbone in that loss to the Sun Devils. Running back Zach Moss has also been slowed by a nagging knee injury.

Still, coach Kyle Whittingham remains confident the Utes will close conference play with a win in Boulder.

“I think our team plays best when there's a chip on their shoulder,” he told the Salt Lake City Tribune this week. “That's been evident to me, when they feel like they've got something to prove or their backs are against the wall… our guys seem to handle that very well. I kind of like being in the position we're in.”

That’s fine. Except that a win over Colorado won’t clinch anything for the Utes. They will still need an Arizona State loss in order to advance to the Pac-12 title game.

Meanwhile, Arizona State can clinch by closing with road wins over Oregon and Arizona.

Arizona, which was 2-3 in the conference before upsetting Oregon and beating Colorado, can still win the division, too. The Wildcats would need a Utah loss to Colorado and then close with wins over Washington State and Arizona State.

There is even a scenario in which Utah, Arizona State, Arizona and USC can finish in a four-way tie.

In that case, Arizona State advances with a win over Arizona. Utah would advance if Arizona defeats the Sun Devils. In the often spoken words of Arizona coach Kevin Sumlin: “Does that make sense?”

Kind of.

Not that it matters. Which ever team wins the South figures to be a heavy underdog to the North representative in the Pac-12 championship game.

Heisman watch

1. Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama, QB: A knee injury forced an early exit in last week’s 24-0 victory over Mississippi State and resulted in rather pedestrian stats. Tagovailoa passed for just 164 yards and one touchdown. It was his first game without multiple touchdown passes. Still, Tagovailoa has passed for 2,525 yards and 28 touchdowns while throwing just two interceptions.

2. Gardner Minshew, Washington State, QB: Yet again, Minshew exceeded 300 passing yards in a 31-7 victory over Colorado. This time he passed for 335 yards and two touchdowns for his 10th 300-yard plus performance. Minshew leads the nation with 3,852 passing yards. He’s thrown 29 touchdowns passes and seven interceptions.

3. Kyler Murray, Oklahoma, QB: He passed for 349 yards and a touchdown and rushed for another 66 yards in the Sooners’ 48-47 victory over Oklahoma State. Murray has passed for 3,038 yards and rushed for 640. He ranks third in the nation in total offense. He’s thrown 32 touchdown passes and five interceptions.

4. Will Grier, West Virginia, QB: Grier had a typically productive outing in a 47-10 blowout of TCU. He passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns. That marked the eighth time in nine games he’s exceeded 300 passing yards and had at least three touchdown passes. Overall, Grier has 2,961 passing yards and 31 touchdowns with eight interceptions.

5. Dwayne Haskins, Ohio State, QB: Haskins had a solid, though unspectacular performance in a 26-6 victory over Michigan State. He passed for 227 yards and a touchdown against one of the Big Ten’s top defensive units. Overall, Haskins has 3,280 yards and 33 touchdowns with six interceptions.

Predicted playoff participants

1. Alabama: Tua Tagovailoa’s sore knee is cause for concern, but the defense has posted consecutive shutouts.

2. Clemson: Tied with Alabama for fewest points allowed.

3. Notre Dame: Only surprising Syracuse and struggling USC stand between the Irish and the playoff.

4. Michigan: Defense has always been good, but offense has scored at least 38 points in four of the last five games.

This week’s best games

No. 13 Syracuse at No. 3 Notre Dame: The high-scoring Orange is a legitimate threat to Notre Dame.

No. 22 Iowa State at No. 19 Texas: Four of last five games in the series have been decided by 10 points or less.

Arizona at No. 8 Washington State: Arizona, which has exceeded 40 points in back-to-back wins over Oregon and Colorado, now appears a serious challenger to the high-scoring Wazzu.

San Diego State at No. 23 Fresno State: An Aztec victory could throw the Mountain West Conference West Division into a three-way tie. That is, assuming Nevada (which beat San Diego State and lost to Fresno) defeats San Jose State.

Duke at No. 2 Clemson: Clemson is surging, but Duke is no pushover.