ATLANTA, GA – Did you expect anything different on the final day before the College Football Playoff was announced? I didn’t expect a backup quarterback to lead Georgia to a win over Texas in the second half, and with the ACC giving us some last-minute talking points, the playoff committee has some tough decisions to make.

What started with Boise State clinching a spot and most likely first-round bye continued into Saturday night when Clemson secured a playoff spot with a win over SMU. As unpredictable as the 2024 season has been over the last four months, I would say that the upcoming decisions on who gets the final spot and where the teams are seeded will be crucial later this morning.

Georgia beats Texas in overtime to earn a first-round bye

I hope you had a good time watching the SEC Championship from home because it was ugly locally. Whether it was both teams struggling to stop a pass or rushing for yards when it mattered, it was an ugly first half of football.

Aside from the final score, the biggest moment of the game was when Carson Beck suffered a pretty bad blow to his throwing arm at the end of an ugly first half. Kirby Smart said after the game that Beck didn’t have the football completely under control and that they would learn more about his injury once an MRI was done upon their return to Athens.

While Quinn Ewers threw for over 350 yards, his two interceptions were instrumental in the Longhorns not winning a trophy after the game. Yes, the Texas defense played well, but without some big attacks on the field, that offense seemed stagnant for most of the evening.

So what’s next?

We’re about to find out how much the playoff committee likes the Longhorns’ schedule, which will decide where they’ll be seeded. They will most likely host a first round game while Georgia rests for the next three weeks.

Trey Wallace and Barrett Sallee announce their final selections

Here’s how our senior college football writers Trey Wallace and Barrett Sallee came up with their final rankings.

Wallace:

1.Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Boise State 4. Arizona State. 5. Notre Dame. 6.Texas. 7. Ohio State. 8. Penn State. 9.Tennessee. 10.Indiana. 11.Clemson. 12. SMU

Sallee:

1.Oregon. 2. Georgia. 3. Arizona State. 4. Boise State. 5. Notre Dame. 6.Texas. 7. Ohio State. 8. Penn State. 9.Tennessee. 10. Clemson. 11.Indiana. 12. SMU

Will Boise State and Arizona State get first-round byes?

Yes, I could imagine the committee deciding that both Boise State and Arizona State will make up half of the top four in today’s final CFP rankings. When SMU lost to Clemson, like it or not, it seemed to make the most sense for the two teams from the West to get automatic byes.

Honestly, I don’t think any MWC team deserves to be sitting at home on the opening weekend of the playoffs, but nothing about this 2024 season made much sense.

Arizona State will be a dangerous team, and someone might have avoided a first-round loss if they didn’t have to play the Sun Devils to open the playoffs.

Big Ten, ACC Championships close out the day. CFP seeding decisions

The most obvious College Football Playoff berth goes to Oregon, which finished with a 13-0 win over Penn State in its first year in the Big Ten. Dan Lanning and the Ducks are simply dangerous and there will be a number of teams hoping to avoid them in the second round.

I give Penn State credit for hanging in there hard, and the Nittany Lions won’t fall far behind in the final rankings. I also suspect that a team will travel to Happy Valley for a game against the Nittany Lions, where the weather should be nice the weekend before Christmas. Pack enough layers and good luck booking a hotel room. The graduation ceremony takes place on the same weekend, so you will be shocked when you see the prices.

The game of the day goes to Clemson and SMU, who put on a spectacle in Charlotte for the ACC Championship.

But after SMU recovered and dropped 17 points in the fourth quarter to tie the game with just over 10 seconds to play, this was the moment that would secure the Mustangs a playoff spot.

A 56-yard field goal by Clemson at the end of regulation propelled the Tigers into the playoffs in dramatic fashion.

As far as the ACC goes, this was the game that got a lot of attention from Alabama fans. After Clemson beat SMU for the conference title, the conversation immediately turned to whether the Mustangs or Alabama deserved the final playoff spot.

Realistically, I just don’t know how you can keep the loser of a Power 4 Conference title game out of the playoffs, especially when you’re already ranked before the matchup. But that’s the dilemma this playoff committee is currently facing, with Clemson automatically taking the final spot. So do the Tigers get 11th and then the committee decides on Alabama or SMU?

Yes, that is undoubtedly what the conversation is about this morning. Remember, CFP Chairman Warde Manuel said teams that don’t play this weekend but are ranked in the top 12 wouldn’t be hurt by developments in conference title games. But don’t forget that he also mentioned that they would look at how each title game came about.

So what Warde Manuel really said was that obviously they would take into consideration the outcome of some of these games, especially for a team like Alabama that wasn’t playing.

But at the end of the night I don’t think it should matter anymore. SMU did enough seconds before overtime to secure a playoff spot.

Here we go, one last tough decision for the playoff committee that is sure to anger a fan base.

Did you expect something different?