College Football's Conference Championship weekend was eventful, with three Power Four finals being one score wins. Georgia, Oregon, Clemson, Arizona State, and Boise State all secured playoff spots thanks to being conference champions.
The big question for the College Football Playoff committee is who gets the final spot. It comes down to two teams: ACC Conference runners-up SMU or 9-3 SEC team Alabama. The final CFP rankings will be revealed later today.
College Football Playoff rankings release schedule:
- Sunday, December 8: 11:00 a.m. CT (ESPN)
How will the CFP committee rank the top 12 teams?
We know the five conference champions, but how will the committee rank them? The top four receive first-round byes, so it's an important decision. Oregon and Georgia look to have sealed their first-round bye, likely ranked No.1 and No.2, respectively.
Which two from Arizona State, Boise State, and Clemson get the final round 1 byes? Clemson was ranked the lowest heading into the weekend games, so you'd expect them to miss out. However, will the committee buckle and put the four Power Conference champions in the top four seeds?
As we mentioned earlier, the other question is, who gets the final spot from SMU and Alabama? Was the Mustangs' walk-off field goal loss enough to keep them above the Crimson Tide? Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney championed for them to get in after his team won the ACC Championship.
SMU is 11-2, and with a three-point loss in the championship game, they should be in over Alabama. Again, we will see if the committee is strong enough to do the right thing despite the Crimson Tide being such a successful brand.