Eighty-two teams have qualified for the college football postseason, including two teams transitioning to the top division.
Conference championship games this weekend will determine the final bowl matchups and College Football Playoff contenders.
Several teams, including Alabama and Notre Dame, face uncertainty regarding their final bowl placements.
We know the 82 teams that will participate in the college football postseason. What we don’t know is where they will play with the College Football Playoff race entering the final weekend of the regular season.
The questions that remain revolve around the conference championship games that feature playoff contenders, including games in the American and Sun Belt that will decide the Group of Five representative of the field.
It appears eight or nine teams are locked in. The playoff rankings Tuesday might adjust this perspective, but it’s fair to assume Ohio State, Indiana, Georgia, Texas Tech, Oregon, Mississippi, Texas A&M and Oklahoma are locks. Notre Dame appears in good shape with its season complete but that could change after the final weekend.
The fun begins with Alabama, which was ranked No. 10 by the committee last week. Should the Crimson Tide – currently in the final at-large spot, – fall from the field with a loss to Georgia in the SEC title game? The nature of the loss will have an impact, as could the result of Texas Tech and Brigham Young in the Big 12 title game. Should the Cougars beat the Red Raiders, they’d be in the field and likely knock out a three-loss Alabama. The Crimson Tide could be out even if BYU loses with Miami, Utah and Vanderbilt sitting behind the Cougars.
The winner of North Texas and Tulane will be in. But a second Group of Five contender could disrupt things. If James Madison wins the Sun Belt, the Dukes could claim a spot if five-loss Duke wins the ACC title game against Virginia.
Further down the postseason, there were exactly 82 teams finishing with the six wins needed for bowl eligibility. Two of those came from transition teams Missouri State and Delaware that would not allowed to participate in the postseason unless there were open spots. Welcome to the party, fans of the Bears and Blue Hens.
Notes: Not all conferences will fulfill their bowl allotment. An asterisk represents a replacement pick. Legacy Pac-12 schools in other conferences will fulfill existing Pac-12 bowl agreements through the 2025 season.