College Football Playoff bracket, rankings reveal: Who will make the expanded 12-team field?

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Conference championship Saturday has come and gone. Now the real show begins.

After four-plus months of on-field results and politicking by coaches, athletic directors and fans, the College Football Playoff selection committee will decide which 12 teams will make the field on Sunday.

We know which teams will likely have byes: Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State all won their conference title games and figure to be ranked ahead of three-loss ACC champion Clemson. But there’s plenty of intrigue around the last team in the field and which teams will host playoff games as well in the first iteration of the 12-team format.

The committee’s biggest dilemma is whether SMU or Alabama will get the last spot. The Mustangs battled back against Clemson to tie the game with less than 30 seconds to go before losing on a 56-yard field goal with no time left. The loss drops SMU to 11-2 and the Mustangs will assuredly fall from No. 8 in the rankings. But will they fall out of the playoff?

  • Time: Noon ET, Dec. 8

  • TV Channel: ESPN

  • Streaming: Fubo/ESPN+

The show is scheduled for four hours, but the rankings and playoff selections should be unveiled early in the broadcast.

Follow along below as we break down the College Football Playoff picture and react to the final rankings as they’re announced.

Live11 updates

  • Herbstreit makes note of bad Alabama loss

    Analyst Kirk Herbstreit did call out the Alabama loss to Oklahoma later in the broadcast.

    There will be plenty of consternation for those two fan bases (SMU and Alabama) as ESPN tries to drag this out as long as possible.

  • Saban makes case for Alabama

    Nick Saban is already lobbying for Alabama over SMU on the selection show in a self-serving and suboptimal moment early in the production.

    “All wins are not the same as other wins.” Alabama did get blown out by a 6-6 Oklahoma team, but he neglected to mention that.

  • CFP Selection Show is underway

    Here we go folks!

    It’s a four-hour show, but the rankings/bracket should be revealed in the first 30-45 minutes.

  • How do the resumes stack up for CFP hopefuls?

  • AP poll voters have Alabama over SMU

    Reminder: The AP poll has no bearing on the CFP rankings.

  • After ACC title game thriller, College Football Playoff committee faces a massive decision: SMU or Alabama?

    The Mustangs’ fate is in the hands of the selection committee after a dramatic finish to the ACC title game.

    Click the photo above to read the story. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

    Click the photo above to read the story. (Grant Halverson/Getty Images)

  • Is there a better way to choose a CFP field? As committee faces backlash, leaders in the sport ponder changes

    Will there be controversy when the final CFP rankings are released on Sunday? (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)Will there be controversy when the final CFP rankings are released on Sunday? (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

    Click the photo above to read the story. (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports)

  • College Football Playoff predictions: What the 12-team bracket should look like on Sunday

    We know who the No. 1 team will be after Oregon stayed perfect on Saturday. How will the rest of the field look? (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)We know who the No. 1 team will be after Oregon stayed perfect on Saturday. How will the rest of the field look? (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

    We know who the No. 1 team will be after Oregon stayed perfect on Saturday. How will the rest of the field look? (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

  • Coaching carousel updates

    There’s been plenty of movement on the college football coaching carousel the past 24 hours as well. Here are the moves that are reportedly being made:

  • How college football’s championship Saturday played out

    First, the top stories from yesterday’s championship games:

  • Good morning folks and welcome to our live tracker for the College Football Playoff selection show!

    We still have about 90 minutes before the show begins, but there’s plenty to talk about in anticipation of the revealing of the inaugural 12-team field.

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