College Football Playoff bracket, schedule released with final matchups

The first ever 12-team College Football Playoff bracket has been announced, and the Oregon Ducks are the No. 1 overall seed as expected. The Ducks are the only undefeated team at the FBS level this season, but they still face a treacherous path to the national championship with 11 other fantastic teams joining them in the bracket.

The Georgia Bulldogs, Arizona State Sun Devils, and Boise State Broncos join Oregon with a first-round bye through the bracket. The first-round games will be played at home stadiums around the country before moving to neutral field sites in the subsequent rounds, and we now know what those matchups will look like.

The Ohio State Buckeyes will host the Tennessee Volunteers in the 8-9 matchup. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish get a home playoff game against the Indiana Hoosiers in the 7-10 game. The Texas Longhorns host the Clemson Tigers in the 5-12 game, while the Penn State Nittany Lions host SMU in the 6-11 game.

The Alabama Crimson Tide have been left out of the bracket as a three-loss team.

Here’s the full bracket for the College Football Playoff:

College Football Playoff schedule

All times are ET

Friday, Dec. 20

Indiana at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ABC/ESPN

Saturday, Dec. 21

SMU at Penn State, 11 a.m., TNT

Clemson at Texas, 3 p.m., ABC/ESPN

Tennessee at Ohio State, 8 p.m.

College Football Playoff quarterfinals schedule

TBD v. Arizona State Peach Bowl Jan. 1, 1 p.m.

TBD v. Oregon Rose Bowl Jan. 1 5 p.m.

TBD v. Boise State Fiesta Bowl Dec. 31, 7:30 p.m.

TBD v. Georgia Sugar Bowl Jan. 1, 8:45 p.m.