On Sunday, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee announced the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff field.
As you can imagine, this was not without controversy.
With multiple teams vying for at-large bids and only seven spots available, there was no doubt that one or two teams would be left with outside consideration. Who will it be?Anne alabama crimson tide the team that defeated georgia bulldogs• The SMU Mustangs team advanced to the ACC Championship Game, but lost on a second-last 56-yard field goal. Clemson Tigers? 2 losses miami hurricanes Which team was shut out from the ACC title battle between Clemson and SMU?
The 12 teams have been announced, so let's take a look. SB Nations Key takeaways from the first 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.
SMU (11-2) beats Alabama (9-3)
That was the biggest question heading into Sunday's selection.
Will the committee reward Alabama for beating Georgia early in the season and surviving a difficult SEC schedule? Or will the committee punish them for their shocking losses, including one on the way to Vanderbilt?
Conversely, how will the committee view SMU, which ranked in the top 10 during conference championship weekend and lost to Clemson on a late 56-yard walk-off field goal in the ACC title game? Could a loss in the ACC Championship Game eliminate the Mustangs and potentially cause the team to take a pause regarding championship games in the future? Plus, what happens to a resume that lacks wins against top-25 teams?
You might also point out that Alabama has a No. 16 schedule (as opposed to SMU's No. 60 schedule) and a better record against teams above .500. SMU finished 5-2 against those teams, while Alabama finished 5-1.
In the end, the committee commended SMU for reaching the title game and for fighting back late against Clemson. After falling 24-7, the Mustangs fought back and scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 31-31.
Only Clemson's late field goal denied SMU the title.
Was this the right decision? As Rece Davis said on the Selection Show, there is no right answer here. Nick Saban took issue with the bracket and the decision to throw SMU into the game against Alabama after the bracket was released, saying it could potentially avoid teams having a tough non-conference game schedule in the future.
But as Saban pointed out, each team is in control of its own destiny, and Alabama's blowout losses to teams like Vanderbilt and 24-3 loss to Oklahoma late in the season led to a loss of participation. The chance was gone.
Notre Dame (11-1) wins in-state home game against Indiana
Indiana at Notre Dame should provide the most exciting atmosphere in the first round. The two in-state rivals will square off for a chance to play No. 2 Georgia in the next round.
With the committee ranking Notre Dame at No. 5, it looked like Notre Dame would slide into No. 5, but Texas and Penn State clinched spots before that, so the Fighting Irish fell to 7th place.
Notre Dame will still play a home game, but it will face an 11-1 Indiana team that entered the game as a No. 10 seed.
It would be no surprise to see Oregon State (13-0) and Georgia State (11-2) lead the way.
There was nothing amazing about the top of the bracket.
Oregon State capped an undefeated regular season by defeating No. 3 Penn State 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night. The Ducks were tested several times this season, including a win over the then No. 1 team. They finished second at Ohio State, and with an early-season win over Boise State, another playoff team, would advance to the playoffs with an unblemished record and a first-round bye.
Georgia certainly redeemed itself Saturday night with an overtime win over No. 2 Texas. It was the second time in as many tournaments this year that the Bulldogs defeated the Longhorns. Although there will be questions about the health of starting quarterback Carson Beck (who was replaced by Gunner Stockton in the second half but returned for one play on the deciding handoff in overtime), Georgia State has , worked on a difficult schedule and came out victorious. With only 2 losses.
The commission rewarded Georgia for its tough position.
Boise State (12-1) and Arizona State (11-2) earned the other byes.
With Georgia and Oregon scheduled as the top two teams in the bracket, the next big question focused on who the committee would name as the third team. Boise State University or Arizona State University?
The Sun Devils won their first conference title since 1996 in their first year in the Big 12. Not only was it an impressive season for Arizona State, but no one would have picked Arizona State to put together a year like this.
After all, they were picked last in the preseason Big 12 media poll. They also had a 4-1 record against FBS teams above .500 and had key wins over Kansas State, BYU and Iowa State in the Big 12 title game.
As for Boise State, the Broncos have Heisman candidate Ashton Giunty and are 5-1 this year against teams above .500, with wins over UNLV (twice) and Washington State Then we lost by 3 points. to Oregon earlier this season.
Is Clemson a case of a first-round bye? Playing the toughest schedule of those three teams, ranked No. 35 in the nation when compared to Boise's schedule (81st) and Arizona State (62nd), and on Saturday night, they played the toughest schedule in the conference championship game at then-8 They played against No. 1 ranked SMU and won the game.
However, the Tigers went 2-3 this season against teams batting above .500.
That may have ultimately doomed Clemson. Boise University was ranked 9th and Arizona State was ranked 12th, but received a bye in the first round.
Boise State had the third pick and Arizona State had the fourth pick. Two teams that probably weren't expected to get byes when the season started watched the first round along with the rest of the teams.
Clemson (10-3) enters No. 12 but has an interesting path.
Clemson University was shut out in the first-round bye discussion, falling to 12th place in the bracket and will play the University of Texas (11-2) on the road.
If they survive in Austin, they will face Arizona State.
It's an interesting path to the semifinals, and one that Dabo Swinney and Co. are probably thankful for for now.
The committee ranked Clemson University 16th, but they qualified thanks to their conference championship. A few weeks ago, the Tigers looked like an underdog, but they lost to South Carolina last week and were in the middle of the bubble, but Syracuse's win over Miami sent the Tigers to the ACC Championship Game.
Texas (11-2) pays for two tough losses in No. 5.
The Longhorns have lost two games to Georgia this season. First at home in October and then in Saturday's SEC Championship Game.
The committee viewed the schedule favorably, praising these two losses to top-five teams as Texas earned the No. 5 seed (the top non-conference championship team) and a home game against Clemson. 1st round.
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This is going to be a lot of fun.
