That means, barring an upset in Saturday's ACC championship game between Clemson and SMU, Alabama might be headed back to the CFP for the ninth time in the past 11 seasons -- despite losing three times under first-year coach Kalen DeBoer -- while the Hurricanes get left out of the first 12-team tournament.

There is big movement in the final College Football Playoff ranking before the conference championships and Dan Wolken is here to break it down.

With conference title games on tap, the final field is starting to come into focus. And the committee shows it still favors the three-loss Crimson Tide in the final 12.

The 2024 ACC Championship Game will pit Clemson against SMU on Saturday, Dec. 7 in Charlotte. With both teams entering Week 14 inside the top 12 of the most recent CFP Rankings, the winner is almost assured one of the automatic bids to the College Football Playoff,

Miami lost to Syracuse on Saturday after Clemson's loss to South Carolina. Miami's loss made the Tigers clinch the last spot in the ACC championship.

Fortunately for Clemson, the team received good news when Syracuse upset Miami 42-38 hours later to give the Tigers a berth in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday to play No. 8 SMU. A win would put the Tigers in the CFP.