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College Football Playoff race: how the 12-team field gets picked

How the bracket works, the teams in the hunt, and why the rankings fights matter.

Listen with headphones. When it asks a question, answer out loud before it tells you.

The twelve spots: four conference champions, one best-ranked Group of Six team, seven at-large, plus Notre Dame if it finishes in the top twelve
The top-four bye: the four highest-ranked teams skip round one, no matter the conference
The committee: thirteen members, chair Hunter Yurachek, first rankings Tuesday, November 3, Selection Day Sunday, December 6
Georgia: No. 1 in the AP poll, beat Alabama twenty to seventeen
Indiana: defending national champion, hosts Ohio State Saturday
The SEC logjam: many one-loss teams, only one automatic bid

Notre Dame: number two in the A.P. poll, guaranteed a spot if it finishes in the top twelve, plays at BYU Saturday night
Miami: the A.C.C. headliner at five and oh, hosts Florida State Saturday night
U.C.L.A.: five and oh, jumped nine spots after beating Oregon
Texas: fell after losing to Oklahoma, hosts Florida Saturday, then Ole Miss visits October twenty-fourth
Group of Six spot: a ranking contest, not a title-game contest, and the champion requirement is gone
The why: five-loss Duke upsetting Virginia in the A.C.C. title game broke the old five-champions rule
Georgia's real tests: Florida in Atlanta October thirty-first, Ole Miss November seventh

Four conference champions, one best-ranked Group of Six team, seven at-large, plus Notre Dame if it finishes in the top twelve
Only the top four ranked teams get byes. A title is a bid, not a bye
The committee, chaired by Hunter Yurachek, ranks first on November third and picks the field December sixth
Georgia is number one after beating Alabama, Indiana is the defending champion, and Ohio State is chasing
The SEC has many one-loss teams but one automatic bid, and the Group of Six spot is a ranking contest

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