College football playoff bracket revealed as Ohio State get huge first round game… and one giant is left out completely
SMU captured the last open spot in the first ever 12-team College Football Playoff on Sunday, bumping Alabama out of the bracket that placed undefeated Oregon at No. 1.
The selection committee preferred the Mustangs (11-2), losers of a heartbreaker in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game, who had a far less difficult schedule than Alabama (9-3) of the SEC but, ultimately, still one fewer loss.
The expanded bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that there is no perfect formula for identifying a champion.
The tournament starts December 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes January 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.
Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye.
All will play in quarterfinals at bowl games on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Arizona State wide receiver Xavier Guillory (1) catches a touchdown pass as Iowa State defensive back Jeremiah Cooper, rear, defends in the second half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game, in Arlington, Texas, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Clemson stole a bid and the 12th seed with its crazy win over SMU — the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field.
The Tigers moved to No. 16 in the rankings, but got in as the fifth-best conference winner.
There was some tension around how the rest of the teams were seeded because that determined who gets home-field advantage in the first round.
The games, with exact dates and times still pending, are No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas; No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.
