The Latest: College Football Playoff bracket is revealed

Updated Dec. 8, 2024 2:08 p.m. ET

Associated Press

The latest on the College Football Playoff's 12-team bracket reveal (all times Eastern):

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Oregon is the betting favorite

Top-seeded and unbeaten Oregon is the betting favorite to win the CFP national championship, according to BetMGM Sportsbook.

The Ducks are +225, just ahead of Georgia (+350), Texas (+375) and Ohio State (+450).

The rest of the odds: Penn State (+700), Notre Dame (+1200), Tennessee (+2500), SMU (+3500), Clemson (+4000), Arizona State (+4000), Indiana (+5000) and Boise State (+5000).

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CFP game schedule

The College Football Playoff starts Dec. 20 and ends Jan. 20. There will be 11 games, all broadcast nationally. Here’s the matchups:

First-round games

Friday, Dec. 20: Indiana at Notre Dame, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Saturday, Dec. 21: SMU at Penn State, noon (TNT); Clemson at Texas, 4 p.m. (TNT); Tennessee at Ohio State, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Quarterfinals

Dec. 31: SMU-Penn State winner vs. Boise State, Fiesta Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 1: Clemson-Texas winner vs. Arizona State, Peach Bowl, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 1: Tennessee-Ohio State winner vs. Oregon, Rose Bowl, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 1: Indiana-Notre Dame winner vs. Georgia, Sugar Bowl, 8:45 p.m. (ESPN)

Semifinals

Jan. 9: Orange Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

Jan. 10: Cotton Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

National championship

Jan. 20: At Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

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Full CFP rankings

No. 1 Oregon (13-0, made playoff)

No. 2 Georgia (11-2, made playoff)

No. 3 Texas (11-2, made playoff)

No. 4 Penn State (11-2, made playoff)

No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1, made playoff)

No. 6 Ohio State (10-2, made playoff)

No. 7 Tennessee (10-2, made playoff)

No. 8 Indiana (11-1, made playoff)

No. 9 Boise State (12-1, made playoff)

No. 10 SMU (11-2, made playoff)

No. 11 Alabama (9-3)

No. 12 Arizona State (11-2, made playoff)

No. 13 Miami (10-2)

No. 14 Mississippi (9-3)

No. 15 South Carolina (9-3)

No. 16 Clemson (10-3, made playoff)

No. 17 BYU (10-2)

No. 18 Iowa State (10-3)

No. 19 Missouri (9-3)

No. 20 Illinois (9-3)

No. 21 Syracuse (9-3)

No. 22 Army (11-1)

No. 23 Colorado (9-3)

No. 24 UNLV (10-3)

No. 25 Memphis (10-2)

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Indiana, Notre Dame last met in 1991

The Indiana and Notre Dame campuses are separated by 200 miles in the Hoosier State, but the teams haven’t met since 1991 and before that 1958.

Rick Mirer and Jerome Bettis led the seventh-ranked Irish to a 49-27 win in South Bend on an 86-degree September afternoon in ’91.

The temperature will be quite a bit cooler when the teams meet at Notre Dame Stadium Dec. 20 or 21.

The winner plays Georgia. The Bulldogs have played Notre Dame three times, all high-stakes games, and have never faced Indiana.

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Playoff field

No. 1 Oregon

No. 2 Georgia

No. 3 Boise State

No. 4 Arizona State

No. 5 Texas

No. 6 Penn State

No. 7 Notre Dame

No. 8 Ohio State

No. 9 Tennessee

No. 10 Indiana

No. 11 SMU

No. 12 Clemson

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Alabama 1st team out, Miami 2nd team out

Alabama and Miami are both out of the College Football Playoff, even though both finished ranked higher than 16th-ranked Clemson.

The ACC champion Tigers got in as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion.

Miami led the nation in offense this year and Alabama played a very tough SEC schedule, but had a particularly bad loss to Oklahoma late in the year.

The Tide was seeking a ninth trip to the CFP. Miami has yet to play in the CFP.

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How close is it between Alabama and SMU? Very.

If the AP Top 25 is a sign, choosing between Alabama and SMU will be a brutal task for the committee.

The margin between Alabama and SMU in the AP Top 25: one point.

Alabama got 838 points from the 62 voters in the AP poll. SMU got 837.

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If the AP Top 25 decided the bracket, it’d be good for ’Bama, bad for SMU

The final AP Top 25 of the regular season is out. No surprise: Oregon is No. 1.

The rest of the top 12: No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Boise State, No. 9 Indiana, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 11 Alabama and No. 12 SMU. ACC champion Clemson is No. 13.

So ... what would that mean?

If the committee ranks the top 12 the same way as AP voters did this morning, these would be the matchups (remember, the four highest-ranked conference champions get the top-four seeds, and the fifth highest-ranked conference champion — No. 13 Clemson — makes the field.)

- No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Notre Dame. Winner gets No. 4 Arizona State. - No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas. Winner gets No. 3 Boise State. - No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Penn State. Winner gets No. 2 Georgia. - No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State. Winner gets No. 1 Oregon. The first team out in this scenario: SMU.

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How to watch: ESPN’s all-day coverage of CFP selections

ESPN’s selection show will begin at noon. It’ll last four hours, and that’s not anywhere close to the total coverage.

Here’s the big headline: Within the first 30 minutes or so of that show starting, you’ll know who made the 12-team field. Within the first hour, you’ll know the full CFP top 25.

There’s a two-hour pre-selection show that starts at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNU, and then three hours of post-show dissection from 4-7 p.m., split between ESPN and ESPN2.

There will also be two-hour shows on SEC Network (starting at 6 p.m.) and ACC Network (starting at 8 p.m.) discussing all things playoffs and bowls from those conferences. And back on ESPN starting at 8:30 p.m., there’s another 2-1/2 hour show discussing all the day’s selections.

And if all that still wasn’t enough, ESPN is planning digital shows at 1 p.m. (selection reaction) and 3 p.m. (the championship picture) on its College Football YouTube channel and Facebook page.

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When are the playoff games?

The College Football Playoff starts Dec. 20 and ends Jan. 20. There will be 11 games, all broadcast nationally.

Here’s how it’ll work:

First-round games

-Friday, Dec. 20: Game at 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

-Saturday, Dec. 21: Games at noon (TNT), 4 p.m. (TNT) and 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Quarterfinals

-Dec. 31: Fiesta Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Peach Bowl, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Rose Bowl, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl, 8:45 p.m. (ESPN)

Semifinals

-Jan. 9: Orange Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 10: Cotton Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

National championship

-Jan. 20: At Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

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How does CFP seeding work?

It’s a 12-team field for the College Football Playoff. That doesn’t mean the top 12 teams in Sunday’s final rankings will get into the field. In fact, that probably won’t happen.

The five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots in the field, and the next seven highest-ranked teams also get in. That means if one or more of the highest-ranked conference champions are ranked lower than No. 12, some of the teams in the top 12 will get bumped from the tournament.

The expectation this year is that the Big 12 winner won’t be ranked in the top 12, so the No. 12 team – it was Miami in the most recent ranking – would be out of the tournament.

Another nuance: the four top-ranked conference champions will have the top four seeds. That means Boise State (which almost certainly won’t crack the top 4) will be seeded no worse than No. 4. And Notre Dame, since it isn’t in a conference, can’t be seeded higher than No. 5.

Seeds 1, 2, 3 and 4 get first-round byes. Seeds 5-12 will play first-round games with 5-8 hosting. There is no reseeding; the bracket will be set Sunday afternoon. The No. 1 seed will play the 8 vs. 9 winner, the No. 2 seed will play the 7 vs. 10 winner, the No. 3 seed will play the 6 vs. 11 winner and the No. 4 seed will play the 5 vs. 12 winner.

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