There's a long list of teams that can argue "No, WE were the unluckiest team of 2020!" Those teams would have a hard time beating Tulsa's argument.
The Golden Hurricane (6-1, 6-0 American) were originally scheduled to host Cincinnati (8-0, 6-0 American) on Oct. 17, but that game was postponed to Dec. 5 due to virus issues at Cincinnati -- one of six schedule disruptions for Tulsa once the 2020 season began. Fast forward to this past Tuesday and Cincinnati's trip to Tulsa was outright canceled... again due to virus issues at Cincinnati.
Now, in one way this is a good thing. Both teams have already clinched berths in the AAC Championship next week, meaning they were set to play two weeks in a row. That's awkward for everyone.
Except Tulsa has a legitimate gripe here, because Cincinnati was essentially rewarded for canceling. As the No. 8-ranked team in the latest CFP rankings, Cincinnati wins the right to host next week's title game. Before the cancelation, Cincinnati would've at least had to beat Tulsa to host that game, but now they get it by default.
There's really no guilty party here. The American is simply following its own rules by awarding Cincinnati hosting rights, but you can understand Tulsa's frustration in having to visit a team that canceled their own trips twice.
Close to 20 percent of scheduled games -- not counting those canceled back in the summer -- have been affected by covid and so it's to be expected the virus will have its say on conference championship games across FBS. But as we'll see below, the virus is having more of a say on some teams' seasons than others.
Here's what's on the line this week.
AMERICAN
Houston (3-3, 3-2 American) at Memphis (6-3, 4-3 American) -- 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU
Bowl eligibility is a gigantic crap shoot this year. Everyone's technically eligible but, thanks to covid, there are fewer slots available than at any point over the last decade or more. But if we're to go by the old standards, Houston needs a win here to extend its season.
ACC
Pitt (5-5, 4-5 ACC) at Georgia Tech (3-6, 3-5 ACC) -- 7 p.m. ET Thursday, ESPN3
No. 17 North Carolina (7-3, 6-3 ACC) at No. 10 Miami (8-1, 7-1 ACC) -- 3:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Virginia (5-4, 4-4 ACC) at Virginia Tech (4-6, 4-5 ACC) -- 8 p.m. ET, ACC Network
Pitt needs a win to remain above .500, which would make it five times above that line in six seasons under Pat Narduzzi.
North Carolina lost a lot of luster with its Black Friday setback to Notre Dame. A win there would've made this a play-in game for the Orange Bowl, which would be the 11th appearance for the 'Canes and the first for the Heels. Alas, Miami is likely in even with a loss here.
Virginia snapped its 15-game Commonwealth Cup losing streak last year, sending the Cavaliers to their first ACC Championship. This year's game isn't nearly as dramatic, but UVa is now looking to win in Blacksburg for the first time since 1998 and to keep the Cup in consecutive years for the first time since 1997-98.
Also, the reason you don't see No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Clemson on the above list is because the ACC gave each of them the week off.
BIG 12
No. 11 Oklahoma (canceled vs. WVU) and No. 7 Iowa State (off) have already clinched title game berths.
With the cancelation of Texas at Kansas, the Jayhawks have officially completed the second winless season in the Big 12's 25-year history. They join the 2015 KU team. It's the fifth time in the past 10 years Kansas did not win a Big 12 game.
BIG TEN
Illinois (2-4) at No. 14 Northwestern (5-1) -- noon ET, ESPN2
Wisconsin (2-2) at No. 16 Iowa (5-2) -- 3:30 p.m. ET, FS1
Northwestern, already booked for the Big Ten Championship opposite No. 4 Ohio State, is looking to keep any glimmer of Playoff hopes alive with a win, while Illinois looks to win the Land of Lincoln trophy for the first time since 2014.
Iowa can't go to Indianapolis, but the Hawkeyes can clinch a share of the Big Ten West title with a win over Wisconsin and a Northwestern loss.
CONFERENCE USA
UAB (4-3, 2-1 C-USA) at Rice (2-2, 2-2 C-USA) -- 1 p.m. ET, ESPN3
No league's conference championship picture is as clouded by covid as Conference USA's.
Marshall (4-1) had their finale with Charlotte canceled, while Florida Atlantic (4-1) is expected to play Southern Miss on Saturday. But Marshall has already been declared the East champion, thanks to their 20-9 victory over FAU on Oct. 24, no matter what the Owls do on Saturday. (Updated from previously incorrect information.)
In the West, UAB hasn't played since Halloween and may not play this week with close to 40 players out due to positive tests or close contacts. If the Blazers play Rice and win, they're the division champions at 3-1.
If covid or the Owls get the better of UAB, UTSA (5-2 in conference play and off this weekend) wins the division.
INDEPENDENTS
Navy (3-6) at Army (7-2) -- 3 p.m. ET, CBS
Welcome to the weirdest Army-Navy game in eight decades. This game is on campus for the first time since 1943, and at the front of Army's service academy round-robin, not the end.
Army hosts Air Force next week so no one will host the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy this Saturday evening, but all three academies are still in the running. Army wins the trophy for the third time in four years with wins in the next two weeks, while Air Force claims it for the first time since 2016 with a win over Army next week regardless of what happens this Saturday.
And by virtue of winning the CIC Trophy last year, Navy retains control if all three teams go 1-1, so they'll need to beat Army on Saturday and for the Black Knights to beat Air Force next week.
MAC
Western Michigan (4-1) at Ball State (4-1) -- noon ET, ESPN+
Buffalo has clinched the MAC East; the West will be decided in Muncie. It would be the fourth trip to Detroit for WMU (first since the undefeated regular season of 2016) and the second for Ball State.
MOUNTAIN WEST
Nevada (6-1) vs. San Jose State (5-0) -- 10 p.m. ET Friday, CBS Sports Network
Boise State (4-0) at Wyoming (2-3) -- 6 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
We've got yet another convoluted championship scenario, thanks to COVID-19.
If San Jose State beats Nevada (in Las Vegas, because SJSU was kicked out of Santa Clara County), the championship game will be Boise State vs. San Jose State (location TBD) no matter what happens in Boise's game on Saturday.
If Nevada wins, the Wolf Pack would need a Boise State win to reach the title game.
But if Nevada wins and Boise loses, the official Mountain West standings would look like this:
1. San Jose State, 5-1
2. Boise State, 4-1
3. Nevada, 7-1
So as to avoid punishing teams who had canceled games, the Mountain West breaks ties through common opponents. Hawai'i is the only common opponent of the three and, because Nevada lost to the Rainbow Warriors while SJSU and Boise beat them, Nevada would miss out on the conference championship game in favor of one team that won three fewer games and a team it defeated on the field.
Pac-12
Utah (1-2) at No. 21 Colorado (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) -- noon ET, Fox
Washington (3-1) at Oregon (3-2) -- 4 p.m. ET, Fox
No. 15 USC (4-0) at UCLA (3-2) -- 7:30 p.m. ET, ABC
Not to be outdone by the American and the Mountain West, the Pac-12 has its own Conference Championship Calamity brewing.
The North will be decided by the Washington-Oregon game... unless Washington cancels, in which case Washington would win the division. Every other North team has two losses, and only Oregon has a chance of passing the Huskies, but they have to play 'em to pass 'em.
In the South, USC can also win the division via cancelation. The Trojans would beat out Colorado by virtue of playing more games, and USC canceled its Nov. 21 game with the Buffs. So while USC just needs a win, Colorado needs a win and a USC loss.
It's entirely possible we get a Pac-12 Championship of USC vs. Washington where both division champions canceled games with the second-place finishers.
SEC
No. 1 Alabama (9-0) at Arkansas (3-6) -- noon ET, ESPN
LSU (3-5) at No. 6 Florida (8-1) -- 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Alabama and Florida have already clinched their divisions and No. 5 Texas A&M had its game with Ole Miss canceled, so the only direction the SEC's Playoff positioning can move is backward.
Sun Belt
No. 13 Coastal Carolina (10-0, 7-0 Sun Belt) at Troy (5-5, 3-3 Sun Belt) -- 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Coastal has clinched a home date with Louisiana-Lafayette in next week's title match, so the only thing on the line here is the Sun Belt's first undefeated season.