When Duke beat Virginia in the ACC Championship Saturday night, it created a doomsday scenario and unleashed chaos for the College Football Playoff selection committee.
Would the 8-5 Blue Devils make the playoff over James Madison, the 12-1 Sun Belt champions? And what would happen with Miami, Alabama and Notre Dame? Those were the big questions the committee had to answer Sunday, and we now know what they decided.
James Madison, Miami and Alabama are in. Notre Dame and Duke are out.
With only two at-large spots, the committee chose Alabama and Miami over Notre Dame. This is shocking news, considering the Fighting Irish were ranked ahead of the Hurricanes last week.
The committee flipped the teams in its final ranking despite both schools having the week off, dealing a death blow to Marcus Freeman’s squad. They lost to two playoff teams by a combined four points, dropping their season-opener 27-24 to Miami on Aug. 31 and their next game 41-40 to Texas Tech on Sept. 13. After starting the season 0-2, Notre Dame has won 10 straight.
This shows the committee heavily valued their August head-to-head matchup against Miami. That three-point win for the Hurricanes likely is the reason Notre Dame did not make the top 12. However, many will criticize the committee for keeping the Fighting Irish ranked ahead of the Hurricanes for several weeks leading up to this point.
In other bracket news, Curt Cignetti, Fernando Mendoza and Indiana hopped Ohio State after their Big Ten Championship victory. Alabama was not punished for a lopsided 28-7 SEC Championship loss, staying at No. 9 in the rankings.
Keep reading to see the full 12-team field, as well as the teams that will receive first-round byes and home-field advantage.
Projecting the final College Football Playoff rankings: Is Alabama in or out?
Who are the 12 teams in the College Football Playoff bracket?
Here are the 12 teams playing in the College Football Playoff, listed by seed.
BOLD Indicates team that earned guaranteed bid as one of five best-ranked conference champions
* Indicates team receiving first-round bye
^ Indicates team hosting first-round game
- Indiana (13-0)*
- Ohio State (12-1)*
- Georgia (12-1)*
- Texas Tech (12-1)*
- Oregon (11-1)^
- Ole Miss (11-1)^
- Texas A&M (11-1)^
- Oklahoma (10-2)^
- Alabama (10-3)
- Miami (10-2)
- Tulane (11-2)
- James Madison (12-1)
Seeding is not necessarily reflective of final ranking by the committee. Tulane and James Madison made the playoff because they were among the five best-ranked conference champions. Notre Dame and BYU were ranked better than Tulane and James Madison, but they didn’t make the playoff.
For reference, here are the final rankings (not seeding) of the playoff teams.
1. Indiana (13-0)
2. Ohio State (12-1)
3. Georgia (12-1)
4. Texas Tech (12-1)
5. Oregon (11-1)
6. Ole Miss (11-1)
7. Texas A&M (11-1)
8. Oklahoma (10-2)
9. Alabama (10-3)
10. Miami (10-2)
20. Tulane (11-2)
24. James Madison (12-1)
What were the first teams out of the College Football Playoff bracket?
Notre Dame (10-2) was the first team out. BYU (11-2) was the second team out. Texas (9-3), Vanderbilt (10-2) and Utah (10-2) followed.
What teams receive guaranteed bids into the College Football Playoff bracket?
The five best-ranked conference champions received guaranteed bids. They were Indiana (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC), Texas Tech (Big 12), Tulane (American) and James Madison (Sun Belt).
What teams have first round byes in the College Football Playoff?
The top-four teams in the bracket received first-round byes. They were Indiana (Big Ten), Ohio State (Big Ten), Georgia (SEC) and Texas Tech (Big 12).
What did this year’s bracket reveal to us about the selection committee?
College Football Playoff selection committee chairman Hunter Yurachek joined ESPN after the bracket was revealed and had a somewhat confusing explanation for choosing Miami over Notre Dame.
Yurachek said that Miami jumped BYU in the ranking after the Cougars lost the Big 12 Championship. When this happened, the Hurricanes were evaluated side-by-side with the Fighting Irish and their August head-to-head result became an crucial factor.
“After the championship game in the Big 12 and the way BYU performed again against Texas Tech, we felt like Miami deserved to be ranked ahead of BYU,” Yurachek said. “And then you had the direct head-to-head comparison of those teams, Miami and Notre Dame, sitting respectively at No. 10 and No. 11 in our poll.”
Therefore, the committee seemingly punished BYU for their loss in a conference championship game, but not Alabama.
College Football Playoff Schedule
First Round
- Dec. 19: No. 9 Alabama 34, No. 8 Oklahoma 24
- Dec. 20: No. 10 Miami 10, No. 7 Texas A&M 3
Dec. 20: No. 11 Tulane 10, No. 6 Ole Miss 41
- Dec. 20: No. 12 James Madison 34, No. 5 Oregon 51
Quarterfinals
- Dec. 31 at 7:30 p.m. ET: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State
- Where: Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic
- Watch: ESPN
- Jan. 1 at 12 p.m. ET: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech
- Where: Capital One Orange Bowl
- Watch: ESPN
- Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. ET: No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana
- Where: Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential
- Watch: ESPN
- Jan. 1 at 8 p.m. ET: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia
- Where: Allstate Sugar Bowl
- Watch: ESPN
Semifinals
- Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m. ET: Winner No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia against Winner of No. 10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State
- Where: VRBO Fiesta Bowl
- Watch: ESPN
- Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. ET: Winner No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech against Winner of No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana
- Where: Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl
- Watch: ESPN
Championship
- Jan. 19 @ 7:30 p.m. ET: College Football Playoff National Championship
- Where: Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida
- Watch: ESPN
Final College Football Playoff Top 25 Rankings
In addition to announcing the official playoff bracket, the final top 25 was released Sunday. Italicized teams made the playoff (see more above).
- Indiana (13-0)
- Ohio State (12-1)
- Georgia (12-1)
- Texas Tech (12-1)
- Oregon (11-1)
- Ole Miss (11-1)
- Texas A&M (11-1)
- Oklahoma (10-2)
- Alabama (10-3)
- Miami (10-2)
- Notre Dame (10-2)
- BYU (11-2)
- Texas (9-3)
- Vanderbilt (10-2)
- Utah (10-2)
- USC (9-3)
- Arizona (9-3)
- Michigan (9-3)
- Virginia (10-3)
- Tulane (11-2)
- Houston (9-3)
- Georgia Tech (9-3)
- Iowa (8-4)
- James Madison (12-1)
- North Texas (11-2)
