After months of relentless speculation about the new 12-team College Football Playoff — the comings, the goings, the head-to-head clashes galore — we finally have a bracket.
The first-round, on-campus matchup to get everything started: 10th-seeded Indiana at seventh-seeded Notre Dame on Friday, December 20 (7 p.m., Ch. 7, ESPN). That’s some kind of coming together in a state whose motto is “The Crossroads of America.” Come to think of it, that would also be a fine, fitting motto for the playoff itself.
Other first-round games, all on Saturday, December 21: 11th-seeded SMU at 6 Penn State, 12 Clemson at 5 Texas and 9 Tennessee at 8 Ohio State.
Notre Dame (11-1) opens as an 8-point favorite against the Hoosiers (11-1), who were one of the brightest surprises in college football and whose first-year coach, Curt Cignetti, has become a household name in the sport. The winner of this game will face No. 2 seed Georgia, the champion of the SEC, in a Sugar Bowl quarterfinal in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.