Overview
- Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas Tech earned the top four seeds and first-round byes in the finalized bracket.
- American champion Tulane and Sun Belt champion James Madison secured automatic berths, while ACC champion Duke was excluded based on lower ranking.
- Alabama made the field at No. 9 despite losing the SEC title game and became the first three-loss at-large selection under the 12-team format.
- CFP chair Hunter Yurachek said re-watching Miami’s Week 1 win over Notre Dame guided the final side-by-side comparison once Miami moved ahead of BYU.
- First-round games are set for Dec. 19–20: No. 12 James Madison at No. 5 Oregon, No. 11 Tulane at No. 6 Ole Miss, No. 10 Miami at No. 7 Texas A&M, and No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma.