On Sunday, the 12-team College Football Playoff was officially announced. This playoff system will ultimately determine the national champion. The top-seeded teams are Oregon with a perfect 13-0 record, Georgia with 11 wins and 2 losses, Boise State with 12 wins and 1 loss, and Arizona State with 11 wins and 2 losses. These four teams earned the top-four seeds and first-round byes in the bracket.

Expansion and Selection Process

As part of the playoff's expansion from four teams to 12 this season, a 13-member selection committee was formed. They selected the five highest-ranked conference champions and seven at-large teams. Only the four highest-ranked conference champions were eligible for a top-four seed and a bye into the quarterfinals. This rule led to differences between the final top-25 rankings and the seedings.The 12-team bracket, by seedings, is as follows:1. Oregon (13-0)2. Georgia (11-2)3. Boise State (12-1)4. Arizona State (11-2)5. Texas (11-2)6. Penn State (11-2)7. Notre Dame (11-1)8. Ohio State (10-2)9. Tennessee (10-2)10. Indiana (11-1)11. SMU (11-2)12. Clemson (10-3)There was little expected movement between the committee's penultimate top-25 ranking released on Tuesday and Sunday's finale. Committee chair and Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel had stated that teams not participating in conference championship games this weekend were essentially frozen.The 48 hours before the bracket reveal were mostly about expectations, as many favorite teams won their conference championship games. However, Clemson upset SMU with a last-second field goal to win the ACC championship game. SMU, which was projected for a possible top-four seed just a week earlier, suddenly found its resume in contention with other at-large candidates like Alabama.Ultimately, SMU became one of the bracket's biggest winners as the playoff selection committee included the Mustangs despite their title-game loss, leaving out perennial powerhouse Alabama. Manuel said the committee had debated the merits of SMU and Alabama. "The way SMU played in that game, losing on a last second field goal, we felt like in this case SMU had the nod above Alabama," Manuel said, "but it's no disrespect to Alabama's strength of schedule."Former Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban, speaking on ESPN, suggested that teams need to strengthen their scheduling in the future. "Play more good games," Saban said. "Instead of playing eight SEC games, maybe we should play 10."

Top Four Seeds and Bye

The top four seeds were secured this weekend. Oregon beat Penn State to win the Big Ten, Georgia beat Texas in overtime to claim the SEC title, Arizona State won the Big 12 over Iowa State, and Boise State beat UNLV to win the Mountain West. With seeds 1-4 earning a bye, the playoff will begin on December 20-21 with a first round between teams seeded 5-12, played at the home stadiums of the higher-seeded at-large team.The matchups are now set:Clemson at TexasIndiana at Notre DameSMU at Penn StateTennessee at Ohio StateFirst-round winners will advance to the quarterfinals, hosted at the Fiesta Bowl, Rose Bowl, Peach Bowl, and Sugar Bowl. On December 31 and January 1, they will play one of the top-four seeds. The seedings mean that the winner of Ohio State-Tennessee will face Oregon, the winner of Indiana-Notre Dame will face Georgia, the winner of SMU-Penn State will face Boise State, and the winner of Clemson-Texas will play Arizona State.

Rest of the College Football Playoff

The dates of the rest of the College Football playoff are as follows:Semifinals: January 9-10, at the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.Championship: January 20, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.