The College Football Playoff (CFP) is upon us, and it’s not just Notre Dame and Indiana playing this week. Here’s your one-stop shop for this weekend’s first-round games and beyond.
How did we get here?
The CFP selection committee gave automatic first-round byes to the four highest-ranked conference champions. Oregon of the Big Ten, Georgia from the SEC, Boise State of the Mountain West and Arizona State from the Big 12 earned the four first-round byes. Clemson also got an automatic spot as the 12th seed after winning the ACC. After the top four, the remaining eight teams are ranked according to their regular-season performance.
Who’s favored in the first round?
According to CBS Sports, Notre Dame is expected to win by 7.5 points over Indiana in South Bend at 8 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 20. Penn State is an 8.5-point favorite over SMU at Beaver Stadium at noon on Saturday and Texas is favored over Clemson by 12, kicking off at 4 p.m. in Austin, Texas. Ohio State is favored by 7.5 points over Tennessee for the 8 p.m. Saturday night game in Columbus, Ohio.
What happens after?
The winners of this week’s games will go on to play in four major bowl games next week. The winner of Texas-Clemson will play No. 4 Arizona State at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Ohio State-Tennessee will send its winner to play No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The victor of Penn State-SMU will play Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix and the winner of Notre Dame-Indiana will play No. 2 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Those second-round games will play out between New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. The semifinals will take place on Jan. 9 and 10 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas and the Orange Bowl in Miami. The winners of those two games will play for the national championship in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Who’s favored to win it all?
According to ESPN’s algorithm, Texas has the best shot of winning the title, followed closely by Oregon and Georgia, and then Ohio State and Notre Dame.
