Oregon earned the top seed in the College Football Playoff, while Alabama and SMU waited to hear whether they would make it into the 12-team field.
As expected, the selection committee anointed the undefeated Ducks as the favorite Sunday, while ESPN dragged out the tension on the panel’s biggest decision -- whether two-loss SMU or three-loss Alabama would nab the last spot.
Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye.
The release of the first-of-its-kind 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that there is no perfect formula for choosing a champion.
The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta.
The match-ups are:
No. 12 Clemson (10-3) at No. 5 Texas (11-2), Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. (TNT and Max)
The winner will play No. 4 Arizona State (11-2) in the quarterfinals
in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Jan. 1 at noon on ESPN/ABC
No. 9 Tennessee (10-2) at No. 8 Ohio State (10-2), Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. (ESPN/ABC)
The winner will play No. 1 Oregon (13-0) in the quarterfinals
in The Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, 4 p.m. on ESPN/ABC
No. 11 SMU (11-2) at No. 6 Penn State (11-2), Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. (TNT and Max)
The winner will play No. 3 Boise State (12-1) in the quarterfinals
in the VRBO Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31 at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN/ABC
No. 10 Indiana (11-1) at No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1), Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. (ESPN/ABC)
The winner will play No. 2 Georgia (11-2) in the quarterfinals
in the AllState Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1 at 7:45 p.m. on ESPN/ABC
Notables not in the bracket: Alabama, Miami