Week 15 preview: A look at Championship Week matchups and players to watch - ESPN

After Georgia knocked off Georgia Tech to close out the regular season last week, coach Kirby Smart lamented the new era of college football, in which the playoff supersedes everything, and some programs would rather miss a conference championship game to rest up and get healthy than chase a trophy.

It's true. Championship Week isn't what it used to be, and a number of this year's participants — Georgia included — have their spot in the playoff already secured, regardless of the outcome of their conference title game.

But if the playoff has taken some of the shine off a championship trophy, there will still be plenty of action this weekend with high stakes.

In the Big 12, BYU hopes to avenge its only loss — a blowout to Texas Tech — and steal a playoff bid.

In the ACC, chaos has been the conference's true dominant force, but its best team — Miami — won't take the field. Instead, Virginia looks to add another chapter to a magical season, while a Duke win could potentially push the conference out of the playoff completely.

The Big Ten championship doesn't have much in the way of playoff implications. Indiana and Ohio State are both shoo-ins, and both probably getting first-round byes. But that doesn't mean there's nothing on the line. A showdown between quarterbacks Fernando Mendoza and Julian Sayin could ultimately determine who wins the Heisman Trophy.

Then there's the games in the American and Sun Belt conferences. Tulane has the inside track on the Group of 5's guaranteed playoff berth, but North Texas could prove a serious obstacle. Meanwhile, James Madison needs to win the Sun Belt title, then state its case to the committee to be ranked ahead of the American champ — unless the folks in the committee room opt for