The games have all been played, but bracket uncertainty for the College Football Playoff has never been higher.
Alabama lost to Georgia in the SEC title game, forcing the CFP selection committee to revisit an old question: Should the bracket include a program with three losses?
And Duke, winners of the ACC Championship, is bringing up a new head-scratcher: Could a team possibly make the playoff with five losses?
Among the few certainties when the pairings come out Sunday at noon EST: Indiana (13-0) will enter the playoff at No. 1 after beating Ohio State for the Big Ten crown, and two of the following five teams will be crying up a storm: Alabama, Notre Dame, Miami, Duke and James Madison.
But first comes the latest AP Top 25 poll, dropping early at 11 a.m. EST.
Follow live updates from The Associated Press below for game highlights, ranking predictions and Top 25 voter answers to fan questions, all in one place.
Here’s the latest:
Nailbiter night
By Dave Zelio
Alabama, Notre Dame and Miami fans probably had something of a sleepless night ahead of the College Football Playoff bracket announcement.
Last week’s CFP rankings moved Alabama up a spot, raising the idea that the Crimson Tide have a cushion to make the bracket even if they lost to Georgia in the SEC championship game, which they did.
Notre Dame has won 10 straight games convincingly since starting 0-2, but had a lighter schedule than both Alabama and Miami, which handed the Fighting Irish one of those losses. Altogether those factors complicate the bottom of the playoff bracket.
Bracket Day!
It’s one of the biggest days on the calendar in college sports: The College Football Playoff will release its second 12-team bracket to kick off the postseason chase for the national championship.
We will kick things off soon with the final regular-season AP Top 25 football poll, so keep an eye for changes there that could foreshadow what you see in the CFP bracket.
There are eight teams that can feel pretty good about making the CFP, from Indiana to Ohio State and Georgia to Texas Tech and Ole Miss.
The final four slots are something else entirely. There is a lot of uncertainty on those and we will update you throughout the bracket release.
Who votes in the poll, and how does it work?
No organization has been ranking teams and naming a major college football national champion longer than The Associated Press, since 1936.
AP employees don’t vote themselves, but they do choose the voters. AP Top 25 voters comprise around 60 writers and broadcasters who cover college football for AP members and other select outlets. The goal is to have every state with a Football Bowl Subdivision school represented by at least one voter.
There is a 1-to-25 point system, with a team voted No. 1 receiving 25 points down to 1 point for a 25th-place vote. After that, it’s simple: The poll lists the teams with the most points from 1 to 25, and others receiving votes are also noted.
Voting is done online, and the tabulation is automated.
Read the full article here
