The 12-team College Football Playoff that may ultimately crown a nationwide champion was unveiled Sunday, with top-seeded Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State incomes the top-four seeds and first-round byes within the bracket.
As a part of the playoff’s enlargement from 4 groups to 12 this season, its 13-member choice committee chosen the 5 highest-ranked convention champions, plus seven at-large groups. Only the 4 highest-ranked convention champions had been eligible to earn a top-four seed and the reward of a bye into the quarterfinals. That rule meant the committee’s closing 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 motion was anticipated between the committee’s penultimate top-25 rating, which was launched Tuesday, and Sunday’s finale as a result of committee chair and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had stated that groups not collaborating in convention championship video games this weekend had been primarily frozen so as. The 48 hours earlier than the bracket reveal went principally to expectations, as many favorites gained their convention championship video games; nonetheless, an exception was when Clemson used a last-second subject aim to upset SMU and win Saturday’s ACC championship sport. SMU, which was projected for a attainable top-four seed as a convention champion only one week earlier, immediately had its resume thrown right into a debate with different at-large candidates equivalent to Alabama, which owned extra losses however extra top-25 victories, for the final at-large spot.
Ultimately, SMU grew to become one of many bracket’s largest winners when the playoff choice committee included the Mustangs regardless of its title-game loss, leaving out perennial powerhouse Alabama.
The high 4 seeds had been secured this weekend when Oregon beat Penn State to win the Big Ten, Georgia beat Texas for the SEC title in additional time, Arizona State gained the Big 12 over Iowa State and Boise State beat UNLV to win the Mountain West.
With seeds 1-4 incomes a bye, the playoff will start Dec. 20-21 with a primary spherical between groups seeded 5-12, performed on the residence stadiums of the higher-seeded at-large staff.
Those matchups are actually 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 on the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl and Sugar Bowl, the place they may play one of many top-four seeds on both Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The seedings imply 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 remainder of the College Football playoff:
Semifinals: Jan. 9-10, on the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.
Championship: Jan. 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.