College Football Playoff: Final 12-team CFP bracket revealed

At long last, the final College Football Playoff rankings have been revealed. With the announcement, the 12-team CFP bracket is also officially set.

The No. 1 seed, of course, is undefeated Oregon. The Ducks won a shootout in the Big Ten Championship against Penn State on Saturday, cementing their place as the top team in the country. From there, things get interesting.

Georgia upset Texas in the SEC Championship, meaning the Bulldogs earned an automatic berth in the field. The biggest result, though, came in Charlotte. Clemson stunned SMU with a last-second field goal – set up by the Tigers’ longest kickoff return of the year – to steal a bid. That shook up the bracket in a big way, leading to questions about whether Alabama would make the cut.

Boise State and Arizona State rounded out the automatic berths after winning the Mountain West and Big 12, respectively. They both earned byes. The rest of the field is made up of the next seven highest-ranked teams.

Now, the bracket is in place. Here’s how the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff bracket looks after the final rankings reveal.

First-round byes

No. 1 seed – Oregon (Big Ten champion)

In its first year in the league, Oregon won the Big Ten. The Ducks went into Lucas Oil Stadium and defeated Penn State, cementing their spot as the No. 1 team in the country.

Oregon continues to impress under Dan Lanning’s leadership and enter the College Football Playoff as the only undefeated team remaining in the FBS. The Ducks will now receive a first-round bye, meaning they will play their first CFP game in the quarterfinals.

No. 2 seed – Georgia (SEC champion)

Despite losing Carson Beck to injury just before halftime, Georgia did just enough to defeat Texas in the SEC Championship and clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff. It took overtime to do it, but Gunner Stockton and the offense held on after a second-half surge – and Beck gave the game-winning hand-off to Trevor Etienne to seal the victory.

UGA ranked ahead of SMU and Arizona State in the final rankings, meaning the Bulldogs secured the No. 2 seed in the 12-team CFP bracket. They now earn a bye and will await the winner of the No. 7 vs. No. 10-seed game.

No. 3 seed – Boise State (Mountain West champion)

Led by Ashton Jeanty, Boise State became the first team to secure a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket Friday night. The Broncos jumped out to a 21-0 halftime lead before coming away with the 21-7 victory over UNLV in the Mountain West Championship to become one of the five highest-ranked conference champions.

Boise State entered Sunday in strong position for a first-round bye, and Clemson’s victory over SMU helped seal that fate. The Broncos secured the No. 3 seed after coming in as the third-highest ranked conference champion.

No. 4 seed – Arizona State (Big 12 champion)

Cam Skattebo had a monster day and the Arizona State defense made some huge plays in the second half en route to the 45-19 victory over Iowa State in the Big 12 Championship. That sealed a spot in the College Football Playoff, and the Sun Devils will now wait to see who and where they’ll play.

But because the Sun Devils ranked ahead of Clemson, they were one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. As a result, Kenny Dillingham and Co. earned a first-round bye amid their hot streak.

First-round matchups (campus sites)

No. 12 seed Clemson (ACC champion) at No. 5 seed Texas

Clemson had a chance to steal a College Football Playoff bid during Saturday’s ACC Championship, and the Tigers did just that in thrilling fashion with a walk-off field goal. As one of the five highest-ranked conference champions, they’re in the field as the No. 12 seed – meaning they won’t get a bye.

Texas saw its SEC Championship halftime lead evaporate as Georgia came away with the victory in Atlanta. The Longhorns fell just one spot in the final College Football Playoff rankings to come in as the No. 5 seed, meaning a first-round game is coming to DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium.

No. 9 seed Tennessee at No. 8 seed Ohio State

A Rivalry Week victory over Vanderbilt helped Tennessee reach the 10-win threshold and keep the Vols right in the thick of the College Football Playoff race. Although they didn’t head to Atlanta for the SEC title game, they’re still heading to the first round of the new-look CFP.

Last week’s loss to Michigan was quite a shock for Ohio State, which missed out on the Big Ten Championship as a result. The Buckeyes were still afloat in the College Football Playoff race, and they will host a first-round game in Columbus as the No. 8 seed.

No. 11 seed SMU at No. 6 seed Penn State

SMU fell at the last second of Saturday’s ACC Championship, but the Mustangs fought back to keep it close late. The question was whether they’d stay in the field, and they did as the No. 11 seed – which means Alabama wound up on the outside looking in after entering Championship Week on the bubble.

In its first Big Ten Championship since 2016, Penn State rallied back to keep things close until the final minutes. However, the Nittany Lions came up short against top-ranked Oregon, but will still host a first-round game as the No. 6 seed in the field.

No. 10 seed Indiana at No. 7 seed Notre Dame

Questions swirled about Indiana’s strength of schedule after the loss to Ohio State, but a 66-0 win over Purdue showed how dominant the Hoosiers can be. They missed out on the Big Ten Championship, but they secured an at-large bid and will get ready for a first-round game later this month, and they won’t have to go far.

A 10-game winning streak has Notre Dame in strong position to host a first-round College Football Playoff game. The Fighting Irish got a rivalry victory over USC last time out to complete the 11-1 season and will be the No. 7 seed in the field.

First teams out

Alabama
Miami