Oregon is the Big Ten champion. Texas is the SEC champion.
Imagine saying these things out loud 10 years ago. Yet the Ducks and Longhorns are one step away from making that reality in the first year of the 12-team College Football Playoff era. No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Texas made it to this point by avoiding the chaos that enveloped one of the most compelling seasons maybe ever.
No. 1 Oregon (12-0) is the lone Power 4 team to stay unbeaten in the regular season. The Ducks completed a perfect first tour of the Big Ten with a 49-21 victory against Washington, and now Oregon will face No. 3 Penn State in the Big Ten championship game. The last time these teams met was in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2, 1995. The Nittany Lions – who were the new kid on the block in the Big Ten at the time – won 38-20.
No. 2 Texas (11-1) was the lone one-loss team in the SEC. The Longhorns have a chance to avenge a 30-15 loss to No. 5 Georgia on Oct. 19. Texas did not have a bad loss in SEC play, and the Longhorns have allowed just 12 points per game since their second bye week. Texas will be making back-to-back College Football Playoff appearances. Can they bring a conference championship with it?
Oregon and Texas can clinch the top two seeds with victories in those championship games. That is not a bad way to make a first impression.
Here is a closer look at The Sporting News top 25 rankings for conference championship weekend.
MORE: Projected College Football Playoff bracket after Week 14
Sporting News Top 25 rankings for championship week
Here is a closer look at our latest top 25 ranking heading into conference championship weekend:
| RANK | SCHOOL | RECORD | PVS. | WEEK 14 RESULT |
| 1 | Oregon | 12-0 | 1 | Beat Washington 49-21 |
| 2 | Texas | 11-1 | 3 | Beat Texas A&M 17-7 |
| 3 | Penn State | 11-1 | 4 | Beat Maryland 44-7 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 11-1 | 5 | Beat USC 49-35 |
| 5 | Georgia | 10-2 | 7 | Beat Georgia Tech 44-42, 8 OT |
| 6 | Ohio State | 10-2 | 2 | Lost to Michigan 13-10 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 10-2 | 9 | Beat Vanderbilt 36-23 |
| 8 | Indiana | 11-1 | 8 | Beat Purdue 66-0 |
| 9 | SMU | 11-1 | 10 | Beat Cal 38-6 |
| 10 | Boise State | 11-1 | 11 | Beat Oregon State 34-18 |
| 11 | Arizona State | 10-2 | 12 | Beat Arizona 49-7 |
| 12 | Alabama | 9-3 | 16 | Beat Auburn 28-14 |
| 13 | Miami, Fla. | 10-2 | 6 | Lost to Syracuse 42-38 |
| 14 | Ole Miss | 9-3 | 17 | Beat Mississippi State 26-14 |
| 15 | South Carolina | 9-3 | 18 | Beat Clemson 17-14 |
| 16 | Iowa State | 10-2 | 13 | Beat Kansas State 29-21 |
| 17 | BYU | 10-2 | 14 | beat Houston 30-18 |
| 18 | Clemson | 9-3 | 15 | Lost to South Carolina 17-14 |
| 19 | Colorado | 9-3 | 24 | Beat Oklahoma State 52-0 |
| 20 | Illinois | 9-3 | 22 | Beat Northwestern 38-28 |
| 21 | Missouri | 9-3 | 25 | Beat Arkansas 28-21 |
| 22 | UNLV | 10-2 | NR | Beat Nevada 38-14 |
| 23 | Army | 10-1 | 23 | Beat UTSA 29-24 |
| 24 | Syracuse | 9-3 | NR | Beat Miami 42-38 |
| 25 | Texas A&M | 8-4 | 19 | Lost to Texas 17-7 |
