With just two more weeks remaining in the regular season, followed by conference championships and the new, 12-team playoff, major college football is building toward a crescendo.
All eyes are on the Top 25 teams as ranked by the College Football Playoff committee, with several Week 13 matchups potentially acting as de facto elimination games.
Here’s a refresher on how the CFP works and a brief look at potential playoff scenarios.
How does the 12-team College Football Playoff work?
The five highest-ranked conference champions will receive automatic berths into the 12-team bracket, with the top four earning a first-round bye.
The next seven highest-ranked teams will then slot into the bracket’s first round. A ranking in the top 12, however, doesn’t mean the schools will be seeded that way in the playoffs.
The fifth-highest ranked conference champion, for example, may not be the No. 5 seed. It could very well be as low as the 12th seed depending on where the committee has it ranked.
