The College Football Playoff matchups are set. No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Clemson, No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Notre Dame make up the semifinalists for the CFP.
The rest of the the final CFP Top 25 was revealed on Sunday, Dec. 20. Here are the rankings:
College Football Playoff rankings: Final Top 25
|
RANK |
SCHOOL |
RECORD |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama | 11-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Clemson | 10-1 | 3 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 6-0 | 4 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 10-1 | 2 |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 8-1 | 5 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 8-2 | 10 |
| 7 | Florida | 8-3 | 7 |
| 8 | Cincinnati | 9-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Georgia | 7-2 | 8 |
| 10 | Iowa State | 8-3 | 6 |
| 11 | Indiana | 6-1 | 11 |
| 12 | Coastal Carolina | 11-0 | 12 |
| 13 | North Carolina | 8-3 | 15 |
| 14 | Northwestern | 6-2 | 14 |
| 15 | Iowa | 6-2 | 16 |
| 16 | BYU | 10-1 | 17 |
| 17 | Southern Cal | 5-1 | 13 |
| 18 | Miami (Fla.) | 8-2 | 18 |
| 19 | Louisiana | 9-1 | 19 |
| 20 | Texas | 6-3 | 20 |
| 21 | Oklahoma State | 7-3 | 21 |
| 22 | San Jose State | 7-0 | 24 |
| 23 | NC State | 8-3 | 22 |
| 24 | Tulsa | 6-2 | 23 |
| 25 | Oregon | 4-2 | NR |
This season's semifinals will be played on Friday, Jan. 1, 2021. Alabama faces Notre Dame at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Clemson plays Ohio State in the other semifinal in the Sugar Bowl. That Arlington, Texas game was originally scheduled for the Rose Bowl but was moved for COVID-19 reasons, College Football Playoff Executive Director Bill Hancock announced.
Here are the other scheduled New Year's Six games:
- Cotton Bowl: No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 7 Florida
- Peach Bowl: No. 8 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Georgia
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Iowa State vs. No. 25 Oregon
- Orange Bowl: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 13 North Carolina
Below is how we predicted the final Top 25 would look:
College Football Playoff rankings predictions: Final Top 25
Here's a look at how I thought the last CFP rankings would look on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Again, these were predictions.
- Alabama (11-0): The Tide held off top-10 Florida and are likely to get the No. 1 spot for the CFP semifinals.
- Clemson (10-1): Big games from Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, Amari Rodgers and the defense meant a 34-10 rout of Notre Dame.
- Ohio State (6-0): Thanks to 331 rushing yards from Trey Sermon, the Buckeyes rallied and then pulled away from Northwestern to win the Big Ten, 22-10.
- Notre Dame (10-1): The Irish might still end up here despite the blowout loss thanks to an earlier win against Clemson and a win against ranked UNC.
- Texas A&M (8-1): The Aggies defeated Tennessee by 21 points, but will that be enough to surprise and move into the top four?
- Oklahoma (8-2): A win against current No. 6 Iowa State to claim the Big 12 title (again) should lead to a nice jump in the rankings.
- Cincinnati (9-0): The Bearcats beat Tulsa on the last play of the game to win the AAC.
- Florida (8-3): Florida may end up not dropping much, if at all, after pushing Alabama in a 52-46 loss.
- Georgia (7-2): UGA's regular season is over after the cancelation of the Vanderbilt game.
- Iowa State (8-3): The CFP had the Cyclones No. 6 before losing to OU. How far will Iowa State drop?
- Indiana (6-1): IU didn't play Purdue this weekend and now awaits what should be a great bowl bid.
- Coastal Carolina (11-0): The Sun Belt title game against Louisiana was canceled (COVID-19 positive test and contact tracing).
- North Carolina (8-3): UNC closed its regular season with a 62-26 rout of Miami.
- Iowa (6-2): The Hawkeyes' matchup with Michigan was canceled.
- BYU (10-1): The Cougars will play UCF in the Boca Raton Bowl on Dec. 22.
- Miami (8-2): Miami's regular season is over.
- Northwestern (6-2): Northwestern kept it close, but too many mistakes and Ohio State's ground game were too much.
- Louisiana (9-1): The Sun Belt title game against Coastal Carolina was canceled (COVID-19 positive test and contact tracing).
- Texas (6-3): Texas' regular season is over.
- Oklahoma State (7-3): The Cowboys' regular season is over.
- NC State (8-3): The Wolfpack's regular season is over.
- Oregon (4-2): A win against current No. 13 USC could help the Ducks move back into the rankings.
- USC (5-1): The Trojans are likely to see a big drop after losing to Oregon.
- San Jose State (7-0): A remarkable season saw the Spartans win the Mountain West title and go undefeated in the regular season.
- Colorado (4-1): The Buffaloes' regular season is over.
