The final whistle has blown on the regular season, leaving the college football world in a state of anxious anticipation. All eyes are now fixed on the selection committee as it prepares to unveil the College Football Playoff bracket, a decision that will crown a national champion and leave several powerhouse programmes heartbroken.
The Certainties and the Controversies
One fact is beyond dispute: the Indiana Hoosiers, with a perfect 13-0 record, will enter the expanded 12-team playoff as the top seed. They are expected to be joined by other high-seeded teams like Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech, all of whom will earn valuable first-round byes.
The real drama, however, swirls around a cluster of five teams vying for the remaining spots. The committee's most agonising choice lies between Alabama, Notre Dame, and Miami, with only two of the three likely to progress. This follows Alabama's heavy defeat to Georgia in their conference championship game on Saturday, while the other two teams were not in action.
Further down the order, another debate simmers. The committee must decide whether to include Duke, a team with five losses that is currently unranked, or James Madison, the 12-1 champions of the Sun Belt Conference. James Madison hopes to join American champion Tulane as a second 'Group of Five' team in the playoff, a historic first for the CFP format.
Coaches Plead Their Cases
As the deliberations continue, coaches have been publicly lobbying for their programmes. Alabama's Kalen DeBoer argued that his team should not be penalised for reaching a conference title game only to lose. "How that can hurt you and keep you out of the playoff?" he questioned.
Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman has a more nuanced strategy. He desires a direct comparison with Alabama, hoping it might see the Irish sneak in at the 9 or 10 seed. Crucially, he wants to avoid a side-by-side ranking with No. 12 Miami, as the Hurricanes' head-to-head victory over Notre Dame back on August 31 could become a decisive, if distant, factor.
The Road to the Championship
The playoff schedule is now set in stone. The first-round games, featuring seeds 5 through 12, will be played at the home stadiums of the higher-ranked teams starting on December 19. The quarter-finals and semi-finals are scheduled for December 31 through January 1, followed by the national championship game on January 19 at a venue outside Miami.
With the bracket announcement imminent, the tension is palpable. The committee's final rankings will trigger celebrations for some and bitter disappointment for others, setting the stage for a dramatic conclusion to the American college football season.
