HOUSTON — Texas and Texas A&M are both among the top-ranked college football programs in the country, according to The Associated Press poll. After Saturday's games, Texas was ranked No. 6 in the AP poll after edging Vanderbilt, while Texas A&M was ranked No. 10 after beating LSU.
But it's not the AP poll that determines the national champions. It's the College Football Playoff that does and has since 2014. This year, the number of teams in the College Football Playoff expanded to 12, up from the four that it's been since its inception. The rankings in the CFP will continue to be determined by a selection committee.
When do the first College Football Playoff rankings first come out?
According to NCAA.com, we’ll get the first rankings on Tuesday, Nov. 5. From there, the rankings will come out weekly through Dec. 8, when the final rankings come out.
How will the College Football Playoff work?
The five highest-ranked conference champions are automatically in the College Football Playoff. The seven highest-ranked teams remaining will fill out the bracket of 12.
The top four teams will get a bye in the first round of the playoff. Of the remaining teams, the higher-ranked teams in each matchup will host the first-round games. Here is how those first-round matchups line up.
- No. 5 vs. No. 12
- No. 6 vs. No. 11
- No. 7 vs. No. 10
- No. 8 vs. No. 9
Once those games are over, there will be eight teams remaining. The next round – the quarterfinals – will be played in bowls with a rotating schedule.
This year, those quarterfinal games will be played at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl (Dec. 31), Chick-Fl-A Peach Bowl (Jan. 1), Prudential Rose Bowl (Jan. 1) and Allstate Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).
Then the semifinal round, which will include the four teams remaining, will be played at the Capital One Orange Bowl (Jan. 1) and the Good Year Cotton Bowl (Jan. 10).
The national title game will be in Atlanta on Jan. 20.
