Oregon takes top spot while Alabama left off bracket
The 12-team College Football Playoff that will eventually crown a national champion was unveiled Sunday, with top-seeded Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State earning the top-four seeds and first-round byes in the bracket.
As part of the playoff’s expansion from four teams to 12 this season, its 13-member selection committee selected the five highest-ranked conference champions, plus seven at-large teams. Only the four highest-ranked conference champions were eligible to earn a top-four seed and the reward of a bye into the quarterfinals. That rule meant the committee’s final top-25 rankings differed from its seedings.
The 12-team bracket, by seedings:
1. Oregon (13-0)
2. Georgia (11-2)
3. Boise State (12-1)
4. Arizona State (11-2)
5. Texas (11-2)
6. Penn State (11-2)
7. Notre Dame (11-1)
8. Ohio State (10-2)
9. Tennessee (10-2)
10. Indiana (11-1)
11. SMU (11-2)
12. Clemson (10-3)
Little movement was expected between the committee’s penultimate top-25 ranking, which was released Tuesday, and Sunday’s finale because committee chair and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had said that teams not participating in conference championship games this weekend were essentially frozen in order.
The 48 hours before the bracket reveal went mostly to expectations, as many favorites won their conference championship games; however, an exception was when Clemson used a last-second field goal to upset SMU and win Saturday’s ACC championship game. SMU, which was projected for a possible top-four seed as a conference champion just one week earlier, suddenly had its resume thrown into a debate with other at-large candidates such as Alabama, which owned more losses but more top-25 victories, for the last at-large spot.
Ultimately, SMU became one of the bracket’s biggest winners when the playoff selection committee included the Mustangs despite its title-game loss, leaving out perennial powerhouse Alabama.
The top four seeds were secured this weekend when Oregon beat Penn State to win the Big Ten, Georgia beat Texas for the SEC title in overtime, Arizona State won the Big 12 over Iowa State and Boise State beat UNLV to win the Mountain West.
With seeds 1-4 earning a bye, the playoff will begin Dec. 20-21 with a first round between teams seeded 5-12, played at the home stadiums of the higher-seeded at-large team.
Those matchups are now set:
- Clemson at Texas
- Indiana at Notre Dame
- SMU at Penn State
- Tennessee at Ohio State
First-round winners will advance to the quarterfinals, hosted at the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl, where they will play one of the top-four seeds on either Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The seedings mean that the winner of Ohio State-Tennessee will face Oregon, the winner of Indiana-Notre Dame will face Georgia, the winner of SMU-Penn State will face Boise State and the winner of Clemson-Texas will play Arizona State.
The dates of the rest of the College Football playoff:
Semifinals: Jan. 9-10, at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.
Championship: Jan. 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
