The College Football Playoff committee is gathered at the Gaylord Texan Resort in Grapevine, Texas, watching conference championship games that will shape Selection Day. With several title games still unfolding, how the committee ranks its five highest conference champions and orders remaining contenders will determine the final field.
Ohio State vs. Indiana
The marquee matchup is No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Indiana, a game the committee is watching closely. A decisive result could flip those two or keep them as is, and it will affect where conference champions and at-large teams fall.
SEC — Georgia 28, Alabama 7
Georgia’s win over Alabama should lock the Bulldogs into a top-four seed and a first-round bye, though their exact spot (No. 2–4) depends partly on the margin and result of the Big Ten title game. Alabama’s decisive loss, combined with its season-opening defeat to Florida State, raises the possibility the Crimson Tide could drop substantially — perhaps out of the field — or fall into the low at-large range (around No. 10) if the committee keeps them only modestly lower. Alabama’s regular-season road win over Georgia will factor into the committee’s evaluation.
Big 12 — Texas Tech 34, BYU 7
Texas Tech’s win secures a top-four finish and a first-round bye for the Red Raiders. That result also helps Notre Dame’s case, removing the threat of being leapfrogged by BYU. BYU’s status (likely around No. 11) matters for Miami and Notre Dame: if the committee drops BYU behind Miami, that could alter the tiebreaker calculus between Miami and Notre Dame and affect which at-large teams make the field.
American — Tulane 34, North Texas 21
Tulane’s victory clinches the American Conference championship and a spot in the playoff as the committee’s fourth-highest conference champion. The Green Wave will be seeded either No. 11 or No. 12 depending on the ACC result. If Tulane is No. 11, it could draw a road rematch with Ole Miss — the Rebels beat Tulane 45-10 in September — as the higher seed.
Sun Belt — James Madison 31, Troy 14
James Madison’s title win sets up a clear path to the playoff only if certain ACC outcomes occur. JMU would become the committee’s fifth conference champion (and the No. 12 seed) if Duke beats Virginia and then wins the ACC. That scenario would exclude the ACC champion from the field. Alternatively, if BYU falls behind Miami or other shifts happen among the at-large spots, Miami could still slip in based on season results such as its opening win over Notre Dame, which the committee may use as a tiebreaker among comparable teams.
What’s left
Conference championship weekend will finish the picture, but several moving pieces remain: the Big Ten result (Ohio State vs. Indiana), the ACC title game (and whether Duke can upset Virginia), and how the committee balances conference champions versus high-ranked at-large teams. Those outcomes will determine whether traditional power Alabama falls out, which conference champions receive top seeds and byes, and which at-large teams — notably Notre Dame, Miami and possibly BYU — secure the final spots.