After months of debate, the College Football Playoff is finally set as the selection committee released its final Top Six rankings on Sunday afternoon.
Undefeated Alabama (13-0) claims the top seed in expected fashion after their 35-28 come from behind victory over Georgia in Saturday’s SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs (11-2) were the first team left out of the playoff, earning the fifth seed.
The Tide will continue their quest to repeat as National Champions in the Orange Bowl against fourth-ranked Oklahoma (12-1). The Big 12 Champions, the Sooners crunched number 14 Texas in their conference championship game, avenging their only loss of the season.
This will be the third time the Sooners are in the playoff – and the second time in as many years. Alabama has made the playoff every year since its inception in 2014; they are 3-1 in semifinal games.
The Cotton Bowl will feature a matchup of the second and third seeded teams. The ACC Champion Clemson Tigers (13-0) will square off with fellow undefeated Notre Dame (12-0). The Tigers are returning to the College Football Playoff for the fourth consecutive year, while Notre Dame will make its first appearance since the playoff format began in the 2014-15 season.
Ohio State (12-1) was left out of the playoff despite winning the Big 10 title over Northwestern on Saturday. The Buckeyes were seeded sixth.
Both semifinal games will take place on December 29, with kickoff times slated for either 4 p.m. or 8 p.m. There has been no announcement yet on which time slot each game has. As has been the case since 2014, the Capital One Orange Bowl will take place in Miami Gardens, Fla., while the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic will be in Arlington, Texas.
The College Football Playoff National Championship is scheduled for January 7, 2019 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.
The entire final College Football Playoff rankings are set to be released on Sunday at 2 p.m. with the New Year’s Six bowls announced an hour later.