The College Football Playoff Selection Committee will announce the playoff bracket on Dec. 7, and the first round of games will begin on Dec. 19. This is the second season of the 12-team playoff format.
Under this system, the field consists of the five highest-ranked conference champions along with the seven best at-large teams.
The top four overall seeds will earn a first-round bye. This marks a change from last season, when the four byes were awarded only to conference champions.
The No. 5 through No. 12 seeds will play in first round games. The No. 5 through No. 8 seeds will host, with the No. 5 seed facing the No. 12 seed, the No. 6 seed facing the No. 11 seed and so on.
After this past weekend’s games, all the conference championship matchups are set. None of these conference championships should affect the Rebels’ seeding; however, they could determine who the Rebels play in the first round.
The bracket, on the other hand, is far from set. No. 3 Texas A&M (11-1) was just handed their first loss of the season against Texas this past weekend. With this loss, the Aggies missed out on their SEC Championship bid and, more importantly, their first-round bye in the playoffs.
On Friday, Dec. 5, North Texas (11-1) will play No. 24 Tulane (10-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. on ABC. The winner will make the playoffs as the fifth conference champion, since the first four conference champions will most likely be the winners of the ACC, SEC, Big Ten and Big 12.
No. 11 BYU (11-1) plays No. 5 Texas Tech (11-1) in the Big 12 Championship on Saturday, Dec. 6. Texas Tech will likely make the playoffs regardless of the result of this game; however, BYU must win to qualify for the CFP. If No. 11 BYU (11-1) beats No. 5 Texas Tech (11-1), the Cougars would likely make the playoffs as a low seed, a possible opponent for the Rebels.
No. 4 Georgia (11-1) will play No 10. Alabama (11-1) in the SEC championship on Saturday. Later that day, No. 2 Indiana (12-0) will face No. 1 Ohio State (12-0). All four teams are locked in for the playoffs.
Duke (7-5) will likely qualify for the playoffs if they upset No. 18 Virginia (10-2) in the ACC Championship. This is an elimination game for the ACC; only one team from the conference will reach the playoffs.
It is important to note that, according to the selection committee, a team who advances to a conference championship and loses will not be penalized for this loss. For example, Alabama will not drop in the rankings for losing to Georgia; however, in a win-and-get-in game like the ACC Championship, the loser will not qualify for the playoff, since neither team is currently ranked high enough to secure an at-large bid.
The College Football Playoff committee has been around since 2014. The committee is made up of 12 members. All are athletic directors and former players or coaches.
ESPN will announce the updated CFP predicted bracket tonight at 6 p.m. The final rankings are Sunday, Dec. 7.
