After a tense weekend of conference championship games made things even tougher, the College Football Playoff committee has rendered its decision on which 12 teams will continue their quest for a national title.
The top four seeds were given to conference champions Oregon of the Big Ten, Georgia of the SEC, Boise State of the Mountain West and Arizona State of the Big 12. Those schools will receive first-round byes, allowing them to watch whatever chaos unfolds and take advantage of an extra week of rest before they play again.
Following much deliberation, here’s who else the committee chose to round out this year’s playoff field:
College Football Playoff matchups, schedule
All first-round games will take place at the home field of the higher-seeded team and will be played on either Friday, Dec. 20 or Saturday, Dec. 21.
No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson
at Darrel K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas
Winner to play No. 4 Arizona State in quarterfinals
No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU
at Beaver Stadium, State College, Pennsylvania
Winner to play No. 3 Boise State in quarterfinals
No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Indiana
at Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
Winner to play No. 2 Georgia in quarterfinals
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee
at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, 8 p.m. ET
Winner to play No. 1 Oregon in quarterfinals
CFP championship bracket
National semifinal 1
Orange Bowl, Thursday, Jan. 9
National semifinal 2
Cotton Bowl, Friday, Jan. 10
CFP national championship game
At Mercedes Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia.
Monday, Jan. 20