The College Football Playoff committee is meeting in Grapevine, Texas, as conference title games finish up and Selection Day approaches. How the committee ranks conference champions and slots the remaining at-large candidates over the next 24 hours will lock the final field.
Ohio State vs. Indiana
The headline game is No. 1 Ohio State against No. 2 Indiana. A clear outcome here would either preserve the top-two order or swap them, and it will have ripple effects on where other conference champions and at-large teams land.
SEC — Georgia 28, Alabama 7
Georgia’s win over Alabama should cement the Bulldogs inside the top four and guarantee a first-round bye. Their exact seed (likely between No. 2 and No. 4) will hinge in part on the Big Ten result. Alabama’s lopsided loss, together with its season-opening defeat to Florida State, puts the Crimson Tide at risk of a steep tumble—possibly out of the field—or dropping into the lower at-large range if the committee isn’t too punitive. The fact Alabama beat Georgia on the road during the regular season will be considered in the committee’s evaluation.
Big 12 — Texas Tech 34, BYU 7
Texas Tech’s convincing victory locks the Red Raiders into a top-four seed and a bye. That outcome also removes BYU as a threat to leapfrog other contenders, which strengthens Notre Dame’s resume. Where BYU ends up (probably around the No. 11 range) matters for tiebreaker scenarios involving Miami and Notre Dame; if BYU falls behind Miami, that could change which at-large teams get in.
American — Tulane 34, North Texas 21
Tulane claimed the American title and a spot 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, the bracket could produce a road rematch with Ole Miss, which beat Tulane convincingly in September.
Sun Belt — James Madison 31, Troy 14
James Madison’s championship gives them a path to the playoff under certain ACC outcomes. JMU would become the committee’s fifth conference champion and the No. 12 seed if Duke upsets Virginia and then wins the ACC, a sequence that would knock the ACC champion out of the field. Other shifts — such as BYU sliding behind Miami or changes among at-large slots — could still open a path for Miami because of its season-opening win over Notre Dame, which the committee could use as a tiebreaker among similar resumes.
What remains
A few key results will finish the picture: the Big Ten title game (Ohio State vs. Indiana), the ACC title game (and whether Duke can topple Virginia), and how the committee balances conference champions against highly ranked at-large teams. Those outcomes will determine whether a traditional power like Alabama falls out, which conference champions earn top seeds and byes, and which at-large teams — most notably Notre Dame, Miami and possibly BYU — claim the final spots.
