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.
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