First 12-team College Football Playoff, with Oregon ranked No. 1

“We just felt like SMU had the preference over Alabama in this particular case,” said Warde Manuel, Michigan athletic director and selection committee chairman. “But that’s no disrespect to the strength of Alabama’s schedule. We looked at all the work of both teams.”

The tournament begins on December 20th and 21st with four first round games involving teams ranked 5th through 12th. It ends Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.

Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, received third place; and defending Big 12 champion Arizona State received the fourth seed and the fourth and final bye in the first round.

All will play in the quarterfinal bowl games from December 31st to January 31st. 1.

Clemson stole a bid and 12th place with its crazy win over SMU – the result that ultimately cost Alabama a spot in the field. The Tigers moved up to No. 16 in the rankings but finished as the fifth-best conference winner.

There was some tension over how the remaining teams were seeded, as this determined who would get home advantage in the first round. The games are No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas; No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State; No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame; and No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State.

The Big Ten will lead the way with four teams, followed by the SEC with three and the ACC with two.

The lasting memory of the opening round reveal will be the decision that awarded the ACC the second bid.

There is a segment of the college football fan base that believes almost everything in the sport has been rigged in favor of Alabama and the SEC in recent years. The Crimson Tide have won three national titles in the 10-year playoff history and have appeared eight times, including last year when they ousted undefeated Florida State to clinch the final of what were then four berths.

SEC supporters argue that the preferential treatment is deserved, especially because the SEC is a 16-team league full of powerful programs.

This season, for example, the Tide had the 16th toughest schedule, going 3-1 against teams ranked in the top 25. SMU’s numbers: 60th in strength of schedule and 0-2 against top 25 teams.

However, the committee also indicated that it was unwilling to punish teams that play in conference title games. SMU did it. Alabama didn’t. And the way the Mustangs erased a three-touchdown deficit before ultimately losing to Clemson had an impact on the 13 people who made the decision.

“We were impressed with the fact that SMU came back the way they did,” Manuel said. “They performed better offensively in the second half,” just as they have all season.

Conference commissioners approved the idea of ​​giving preferential treatment to conference champions in this first edition of the 12-team playoffs. There is a good argument that needs to be changed.

The committee actually ranked Boise State, the Mountain West champion, at No. 9, but the Broncos are the third seed who will play in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. Arizona State was ranked 12th but jumped to No. 4 and will play in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Eve.

There is also no redraw of teams after each round, meaning No. 1 Oregon will face the winner of Tennessee-Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Oregon defeated Ohio State 32-31 earlier this year in one of the best games of the season.

“Winning a national championship shouldn’t be easy,” said Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who didn’t seem bothered by the potential matchup.

Meanwhile, Georgia is ranked second and second seed and will play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, but quarterback Carson Beck injured his hand in Saturday’s win over Texas, so his availability is questionable.

The committee has taken injuries into account in the past, but it didn’t seem to make a difference in the way it treated Georgia.