The College Football Playoff era doesn't mesh well with the Power 5 conference championship model, and that's on display now more than ever heading into the final weekend before this year's pairings are announced.No. 1 Alabama takes on No. 4 Georgia in the marquee matchup in the SEC championship game, but the Crimson Tide are 13-point favorites and still could end up in the Playoff if they lose. The rest of the Power 5 conference championships leavelittle room for drama.MORE: No. 2 Clemson is a 27.5-point favorite against five-lo s Pitt in the ACC championship game. No. 6 Ohio State is a 14-point favorite against four-lo s Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game. No. 5 Oklahoma meets No. 9 Texas in a Carl Nassib Jersey in the Big 12 championship, but the Sooners are the only team in that matchup who can make the Playoff. No. 10 Washington and No. 15 Utah play in a Pac-12 championship game that has .That'sthe landscape of the Power 5.MatchupSpreadNo. 2 Clemson (12-0) vs. Pittsburgh (7-5)27.5No. 6 Ohio State (11-1) vs. No. 21 Northwestern (8-4)14No. 1 Alabama (12-0) vs. No. 4 Georgia (11-1)13No. 5 Oklahoma (11-1) vs. No. 9 Texas (9-3)8No. 10 Washington (9-3) vs. No. 17 Utah (9-3)5The biggest problem? In the Playoff era, only three Power 5 conference championship gamesguaranteed the winner would reachthe College Football Playoff. That was Michigan State-Iowa in 2015and Auburn-Georgia and Miami-Clemson in 2017. North Carolina could have created an interesting discu sion if it had beaten Clemson in the 2015 ACC championship, but one-lo s Ohio State could just as easily sneakedin ahead of the Tar Heels.This year, however, only one game has such stakes: Georgia vs. Alabama."The playing field is not level for all teams relative to Dave Casper Jersey conference championship games,"Alabama coach NickSabansaid on the SEC championship game teleconference Sunday."They have them. They don't have them. Who they play; who they don'tplay.It is what it is, and it's the challenge we have before us. I don't really have an opinion right now on expanding playoffs and eliminating championship games and all that. I really just never, ever thought about it."Almost everybody else has thought about it and has opinions on the subject. Alabama doesn't have to think about it as much, especially after reaching the Playoff last season. The call toexpand the Playoff and/oreliminate conference championships exists for a reason, and its because of that disconnected relationship between the two.Will that disconnect need to be fixed down the line?"There are two ways you can go about it," Fox analyst Joel Klatt told Sporting News."You can either fix the conference championships and, in turn, make a small tweak to the Playoff, or you can blow the Playoff up and the conference championship game weekend and try to build something that is an eight-team model. I don't know what the appetite is."Oh, that appetite is out there, especially when there are alternatives worth exploring for conference championship weekend.* * * *The intent of conference championship games is to be a de facto quarterfinal round for the College Football Playoff. That's how Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, who has the Tigers in the ACC championship game for the fourth consecutive year, chooses to look at it."It is a Playoff,"Swinney said on the ACC teleconference Sunday."Just go lose the game, you'll find out. There's no question. I think every game is a Playoff game, to be honest with you. Those games in September matter. Those games in October matter. That's what to me is great about college football."That's where Swinney is right. Clemson is 3-0 in ACC championship games since the Playoff era and would be in an uncomfortable position if it lost to Pitt on Saturday.Where is he wrong?If there's Trevon Moehrig Jersey an upset and thatisn't happening. Of the 17 Power 5 conference championship games played since 2014, the higher-ranked team is 13-4, and the average margin of victory in those games is 23.5 points per game. Of the four upsets, Michigan State (2015) and Georgia (2017) were the teams that made the Playoff. Penn State (2016) and Ohio State (2017) did not.MORE: The challenge for coaches like Ohio State's Urban Meyer is to maintain the focus on the conference championship, even if the debate Josh Jacobs T Shirts between the Buckeyes and Sooners for the final Playoff spot is already out in full force."I don't believe other than kids staring at their phones that there will be a lot of conversation about it," Meyer said about the Playoff. "You get a ring when you win this (Big Ten) championship. That's the conversation always around here."Perceptions can change with the help of a conference championship performance, which the Buckeyes know well from a 59-0 victory over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game in 2014.That helped vault the Buckeyes over TCU in the rankingsand spur them on to the first championship of the Playoff era.On the flip side, Ohio State could be the third consecutive Big Ten champion to be leftout of the Playoff, evenif it does beat Northwestern, which heads into Indianapolis looking to play spoiler. Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald knows the disparity, but he also points to the player safety i sues that come with adding more games."I haven't seen anybody articulate how you add more than what we have right now and still keep every game significant,"Fitzgerald said."It has to protect the bowl season, which rewards teams for having a succe sful season."Give us two chances to try, coach. * * * *Klatt offers two po sible solutions for conference championship weekend. The firstinvolves a few tweaks to the currentfour-team model."You get rid of divisions and let the top two teams play in the conference championship with a more round-robin style of schedule so you would get rid of inequities with cro s-division schedules in every conference,"Klatt said."In the five autonomous conferences, that would give you 10 of the top 12 or 13 teams in the country, in theory. That would be a de facto quarterfinal, with the other tweak being you have to win your conference in order to go (to the Playoff)."How would that look this year if you eliminated divisions within the Power 5 conferences?No. 2 Clemson vs. PittNo. 5 Oklahoma vs. No. 9 TexasNo. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 8 MichiganNo. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 GeorgiaNo. 10 Washington vs. No. 12 Washington StateThe flaw here wouldbe rematches with Washington-Washington State and Ohio State-Michigan, and that would devalue the regular-season rivalry matchups. The Big 12, however, has a no-division formula that creates an intriguing rematch with Oklahoma and Texas. It goes both ways.Klatt offers the morepopular alternative, which is an expansion to eight teams."You can say we're all going to get rid of our championship game and go to eight Divine Deablo Jersey and we're going to play on site on championship game weekend for the ro