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Let the debates begin.
The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff bracket was revealed on Sunday after an incredible slate of conference championship games and one of the most interesting regular-seasons in recent memory.
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Kenyon Sadiq of the Oregon Ducks reacts after scoring a touchdown during the first half of the Big Ten Football Championship game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium on Dec. 7, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
The College Football Playoff field was expanded from four teams to 12 before the start of the 2024 season. The success of the playoff format, which started in 2024, allowed for the expansion.
The Oregon Ducks, Georgia Bulldogs, Boise State Broncos and Arizona State Sun Devils were seeded Nos. 1 through 4 and received first-round byes into the quarterfinals.
The Ducks won the Big Ten Championship in their first season in the conference. The Bulldogs topped the Texas Longhorns in the SEC Championship. The Broncos, with Heisman contender Ashton Jeanty, won the Mountain West Championship over the UNLV Rebels. The Sun Devils topped the Iowa State Cyclones for the Big 12 Championship.
The Clemson Tigers, which upset the SMU Mustangs for the ACC Championship, were given the No. 12 seed.
Head coach Rhett Lashlee of the SMU Mustangs, left, and head coach Dabo Swinney of the Clemson Tigers speak before the ACC Football Championship at Bank of America Stadium on Dec. 7, 2024, in Charlotte, N.C. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
The first round has Clemson taking on No. 5 Texas with the winner playing Arizona State. Penn State received the No. 6 seed in the bracket and will play No. 11 SMU with the winner playing Boise State.
Notre Dame was given the No. 7 seed and will play No. 10 Indiana. The winner will play Georgia. Ohio State was given the No. 8 seed and will play No. 9 Tennessee. The winner will play Oregon.
The first-round matchups will be played at the home field of the higher seed. The quarterfinals and semifinals will be played at neutral sites and in a traditional bowl game.
Here's how the schedule will go:
- No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Indiana (Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ET)
- No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU (Dec. 21, noon ET)
- No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson (Dec. 21, 4 p.m. ET)
- No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee (Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET)
- No. 3 Boise State vs. Penn State/SMU (Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET)
- No. 4 Arizona State vs. Texas/Clemson (Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET)
- No. 1 Oregon vs. Ohio State/Tennessee (Jan. 1, 5 p.m. ET)
- No. 2 Georgia vs. Notre Dame/Indiana (Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m. ET)
Alabama was left out of the bracket with three losses even as the selection committee picked them as one of the last teams into the Playoff last week. Miami, which finished 10-2, was also on the outside looking in.
Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe celebrates his touchdown run against Auburn during the second half, Nov. 30, 2024, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)
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The national championship will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
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