MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Aaron Rodgers’ string of NFL starts without passing for at least 300 yards ended Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. 

Rodgers had 339 yards passing at the end of regulation before the Dolphins marched to an overtime touchdown for a 32-26 win over the New York Jets.

It had been 34 starts since Rodgers last hit the passing milestone. 

Rodgers had 341 yards and four touchdowns with the Green Bay Packers against the Chicago Bears on Dec. 12, 2021. It was the last of three straight games with more than 300 yards passing for Rodgers. 

He failed to eclipse 300 yards passing in his final 21 games with the Packers. 

All things Jets: Latest New York Jets news, schedule, roster, stats, injury updates and more.

Before Sunday’s game, the most yards Rodgers threw for in a Jets jersey was 294 in a 23-20 loss to the Bills on Oct. 14. 

Nearly three years (four days before the anniversary), Rodgers broke the quirky drought. 

The College Football Playoff committee has decisions to make Sunday morning before it announces which 12 teams will compete for this season’s national championship.

While Arizona State, Georgia and Oregon won their conference championship games Saturday, others were left waiting to see where they would be placed in the bracket as an at-large team.

The first-round games will be played at the home team’s venue and the quarterfinal games will be played at the site of traditional bowl games, such as the Rose Bowl and the Sugar Bowl.

Here’s everything you need to know about the College Football Playoff ranking show and what teams will be playing in bowl games to end the 2024 season.

SEC has most CFP top 25 teams

Officials and pundits talk strength of schedule factor for playoffs

College Football Playoff Rankings

Playoff teams in bold

No. 1 – Oregon
No. 2 – Georgia
No. 3 – Texas
No. 4 – Penn State
No. 5 – Notre Dame
No. 6 – Ohio State
No. 7 – Tennessee
No. 8 – Indiana
No. 9 – Boise State
No. 10 – SMU
No. 11 – Alabama
No. 12 – Arizona State
No. 13 – Miami
No. 14 – Ole Miss
No. 15 – South Carolina
No. 16 – Clemson
No. 17 – BYU
No. 18 – Iowa State
No. 19 – Missouri
No. 20 – Illinois
No. 21 – Syracuse
No. 22 – Army
No. 23 – Colorado
No. 24 – UNLV
No. 25 – Memphis

What is the College Football Playoff first-round schedule?

Indiana vs. Notre Dame: Dec. 20, 8 p.m. ET – South Bend, Indiana (ESPN/ABC)
SMU vs. Penn State: Dec. 21, Noon ET – State College, Pennsylvania (TNT & Max)
Clemson vs. Texas: Dec. 21, 4 p.m. ET – Austin, Texas (TNT & Max)
Tennessee vs. Ohio State: Dec. 21, 8 p.m. ET – Columbus, Ohio (ESPN/ABC)

Who were the teams left out of the College Football Playoff bracket?

Alabama and Miami were the first and second teams to miss a chance to compete in the college football playoff.

No. 11 seed: SMU

The Mustangs will play on the road against Penn State. SMU fell short in the ACC title game against Clemson on Saturday.

No. 10 seed: Indiana

The Hoosiers finished the season with an 11-1 record in the regular season to earn an at-large bid. Indiana will travel to play Notre Dame.

No. 9 seed: Tennessee

The Volunteers will travel to play the Buckeyes. Tennessee finished the regular season with a 10-2 record.

No. 8 seed: Ohio State

The Buckeyes earned the final first-round home game and will host Tennessee. Ohio State is looking to bounce back from a loss to rival Michigan.

No. 7 seed: Notre Dame

The Fighting Irish will host a first-round game against Indiana. Notre Dame won its last 10 games of the season.

No. 6 seed: Penn State

Penn State will host a first-round game against SMU. The Nittany Lions lost the Big Ten Championship Game against Oregon.

No. 5 seed: Texas

The Longhorns received the first at-large bid despite losing the SEC title game. Texas will host ASU.

No. 12 seed: Clemson

Clemson earns an auto berth after beating SMU to win the ACC Championship on Saturday.

No. 4 seed: Arizona State

Coach Kenny Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils will have a first-round bye. Arizona State will play in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC). Arizona State beat Iowa State 45-19 to win the Big 12 Championship.

No. 3 seed: Boise State

Ashton Jeanty and the Broncos earned the first-round bye and will play in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31 (7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC). Boise State was ranked No. 9 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.

No. 2 seed: Georgia

The Bulldogs won the SEC Championship with a victory over Texas on Saturday. Georgia will have a first-round bye and play in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1 (8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC).

No. 1 seed: Oregon

The Ducks go in as the top seed after winning the Big Ten Championship. Oregon will have a first-round bye and will play in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 (5 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC). The Ducks played in Pasadena earlier this season and earned a 34-13 victory over UCLA.

How to watch CFP Rankings release show: Time, TV, streaming

Date: Sunday, Dec. 8
Time: Noon-4 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN
Stream: Fubo

Watch the CFP Rankings Show on ESPN with a Fubo subscription

College Football Playoff bracket predictions 

Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY

Oregon
Georgia
Boise State
Arizona State
Penn State
Notre Dame
Texas
Ohio State
Tennessee
Indiana
SMU
Clemson

Bracket – first-round games

No. 5 Penn State vs. No. 12 Clemson
No. 6 Notre Dame vs. No. 11 SMU
No. 7 Texas vs. No. 10 Indiana
No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee

When do College Football Playoff rankings come out?  

The final College Football Playoff rankings of the 2024 season will be released Sunday, Dec. 8 with a CFP selection show to announce the 12-team playoff field. 

Here is the schedule for the College Football Playoff rankings show. All times are Eastern: 

Selection Day: Sunday, Dec. 8, noon-4 p.m. 

How to watch College Football Playoff rankings show  

The College Football Playoff rankings show will air on ESPN, with the broadcast starting at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday, Dec. 8. Fans can also stream the show on Fubo. 

How many teams in College Football Playoff 2024?  

This season, there are 12 teams in the College Football Playoff for the first time. College football previously introduced the CFP in 2014 with a four-team format. The expansion to 12 teams is set in place for the 2024 and 2025 college football seasons. Leaders within the sport have not agreed to the framework of the playoff beyond that at this point. 

How does College Football Playoff format work?  

The 12 participating teams in the College Football Playoff bracket will be the five conference champions ranked highest by the CFP selection committee, and the next seven highest-ranked teams. 

The four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded one through four and receive a first-round bye. The fifth conference champion will be seeded where it was ranked among the top 12 teams, or at No. 12 if it is outside the top 12 in the CFP rankings. Non-conference champions ranked in the top four will be seeded beginning at No. 5. 

‘Because of this,’ the CFP warns on its website, ‘the seeding, 1 through 12, could look different than the final rankings.’ 

For the first round, the higher-ranked team in each pairing (5 vs. 12, 6 vs. 11, 7 vs. 10, 8 vs. 9) will serve as host on campus. The winners advance to the quarterfinals and match up with the corresponding top-four conference champion based on seeding. Quarterfinal games will played at the Fiesta Bowl, Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The semifinals – played at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic – will take place Jan. 9-10. 

The two semifinal winners will play for the national championship Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. — Mark Giannotto

CFP championship odds 

Here are the latest College Football Playoff title odds from BetMGM: 

Oregon (+325) 
Georgia (+400) 
Ohio State (+400) 
Texas (+450) 
Notre Dame (+750) 
Penn State (+1400) 
Tennessee (+2500) 
Alabama (+2500) 
Clemson (+3000) 
Arizona State (+4000) 
Indiana (+5000) 
SMU (+5000) 
Boise State (+5000) 

College football bowl game predictions

Sometimes the penultimate weekend of the college football season can make the playoff picture clearer. There are just a handful of championship games left and a finite amount of results combinations can make things easier to predict. 

That’s not the case this year, even with the expanded 12-team field in place for the first time. There are at-large candidates with their regular season over and how the committee will sort them is anybody’s guess. There’s five conferences vying for first-round byes and the championship games will sort out those races. And how the seeding among all these teams are impacted by the games this weekend is unclear. — Erick Smith 

Heisman Trophy odds

Odds via BetMGM as of Sunday morning: 

WR/DB Travis Hunter, Colorado (-2500) 
RB Ashton Jeanty, Boise State (+1000) 
QB Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (+25000) 
QB Cam Ward, Miami (+25000) 

When is the Heisman ceremony?  

The Heisman Trophy ceremony will begin at 8 p.m. ET in New York on Saturday, Dec. 14. It will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+. 

CFP National Championship: Time, date and location  

The College Football National Championship game will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

Who won the college football national championship last year? 

Coach Jim Harbaugh and No. 1 Michigan beat No. 2 Washington 34-13 to win the 2023 national championship in Houston.

Coaches Carousel

While bowl-eligible teams found out where they’ll play, other college programs have taken the first step toward rebuilding.

Hires & Fires

North Carolina: Mack Brown out

Purdue: Ryan Walters out, Barry Odom in

UNLV: Barry Odom out

West Virginia: Neal Brown out

UCF: Gus Malzahn out (resigned), Scott Frost in

Appalachian State: Shawn Clark out, Dowell Loggains in

Florida International: Mike MacIntyre out, Willie Simmons in

East Carolina: Blake Harrell in, Mike Houston out

Fresno State: Matt Entz in, Jeff Tedford out

Southern Miss: Will Hall out, Charles Huff in

Marshall: Charles Huff out, Tony Gibson in

Utah State: Blake Anderson out (cause)

Tulsa: Kevin Wilson out

Charlotte: Biff Poggi out, Tim Albin in

Rice: Scott Abell in, Mike Bloomgren out

Temple: K.C. Keeler in, Stan Drayton out

Central Michigan: Jim McElwain out (retired)

Sam Houston: K.C. Keeler (out)

UMass: Joe Harasymiak in, Don Brown out

Ball State: Mike Uremovich in, Mike Neu out

Kennesaw State: Jerry Mack in, Brian Bohannon out

Florida Atlantic: Zach Kittley in, Tom Herman out

Ohio: Tim Albin out

Retentions & Extensions

Arkansas: Sam Pittman (Retained)

Florida: Billy Napier (Retained)

Baylor: Dave Aranda (Retained)

UAB: Trent Dilfer (Retained)

SMU: Rhett Lashlee (Extended)

Texas State: GJ Kinne (Extended)

BYU: Kalani Sitake (Extended)

Conference Champions:

SEC: Georgia

Big Ten: Oregon

Big 12: Arizona State

ACC: Clemson

MAC: Ohio

Mountain West: Boise State

Sun Belt: Marshall

AAC: Army

Conference USA: Jacksonville State

SWAC: Jackson State

Bowl Game Schedule:

Saturday, Dec. 14

Celebration Bowl: South Carolina State vs. Jackson State

Salute to Veterans Bowl: South Alabama vs. Western Michigan

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Frisco Bowl: Memphis vs. West Virginia

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton Bowl: James Madison vs. Western Kentucky

LA Bowl: TBA

Thursday, Dec. 19

New Orleans Bowl: Sam Houston vs. Georgia Southern

Friday, Dec. 20

Cure Bowl: Ohio vs. Jacksonville State

Gasparilla Bowl: Florida vs. Tulane

College Football Playoff first-round game: Indiana at Notre Dame

Saturday, Dec. 21

College Football Playoff first-round game: SMU at Penn State

College Football Playoff first-round game: Clemson at Texas

College Football Playoff first-round game: Tennessee at Ohio State

Monday, Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl: Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl: South Florida vs. San Jose State

Thursday, Dec. 26

GameAbove Sports Bowl: TBA

Rate Bowl: TBA

68 Ventures Bowl: Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green

Friday, Dec. 27

Armed Forces Bowl: Navy vs. Oklahoma

Birmingham Bowl: Vanderbilt vs. Georgia Tech

Liberty Bowl: Arkansas vs. Texas Tech

Holiday Bowl: Syracuse vs. Washington State

Las Vegas Bowl: USC vs. Texas A&M

Saturday, Dec. 28

Fenway Bowl: TBA

Pinstripe Bowl: Nebraska vs. Boston College

New Mexico Bowl: TCU vs. Louisiana

Pop-Tarts Bowl: Iowa State vs. Miami

Arizona Bowl: TBA

Military Bowl: North Carolina State vs. East Carolina

Alamo Bowl: BYU vs. Colorado

Independence Bowl: TBA

Monday, Dec. 30

Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Missouri

Tuesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl: Michigan vs. TBA (SEC)

Sun Bowl: TBA

Citrus Bowl: Illinois vs. South Carolina

Texas Bowl: LSU vs. Baylor

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Fiesta Bowl): Boise State vs. TBD

Wednesday, Jan. 1

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Peach Bowl): Arizona State vs. TBD

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Rose Bowl): Oregon vs. TBD

College Football Playoff Quarterfinal Game (Sugar Bowl): Georgia vs. TBD

Thursday, Jan. 2

Gator Bowl: TBA

Friday, Jan. 3

First Responder Bowl: TBA

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech

Saturday, Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl: Liberty vs. Buffalo

Thursday, Jan. 9

College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Orange Bowl): TBA

Friday, Jan. 10

College Football Playoff Semifinal Game (Cotton Bowl): TBA

Monday, Jan. 20

College Football Playoff National Championship Game: TBA

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Coach Deion Sanders and the Colorado Buffaloes have been selected to face BYU in the Alamo Bowl in San Antonio Dec. 28, creating an all-Big 12 Conference matchup between two Rocky Mountain teams that haven’t played each other in 36 years.

The matchup became official Sunday after the College Football Playoff made its selections, leaving the Alamo Bowl to pick which remaining teams it wanted from the Big 12 and former Pac-12 conferences. The Alamo Bowl then took the Buffs (9-3) with the first pick of eligible teams from the former Pac-12.

They will play a prime-time game against the Cougars (10-2), the first non-playoff team taken from the Big 12. Both teams were part of a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12 this year but haven’t played each other since the Freedom Bowl in 1988, when BYU won 20-17, despite two touchdowns from Colorado running back Eric Bieniemy.

Why is Colorado playing a Big 12 team in the Alamo Bowl?

Several bowl games still have contracts with the Pac-12 to select teams from that league even though the conference collapsed this year and only has two current members. Colorado rejoined the Big 12 this year and was one of 10 teams that left the Pac-12 for other conferences.

Instead of redoing the contracts to reflect conference realignment, the Alamo Bowl still will select the first non-playoff teams from each of those two pools of candidates in 2024 and 2025.

Oregon, a former Pac-12 team, won a spot in the 12-team playoff as the Big Ten champion. So did former Pac-12 member Arizona State, which won the Big 12 championship Saturday against Iowa State.

That left Colorado as the most attractive choice among former Pac-12 teams – not just because of its record but especially because of its ability to sell tickets and attract viewers on television. The Buffs have played in front of sold-out crowds in 20 of 24 games under Sanders. They also ranked 11th nationally in average television viewership through Week 11 (3.64 million), according to CU.

The Alamo Bowl used its first pick on the Big 12 side to select BYU over Iowa State (10-3), which was coming off a 45-19 loss in the Big 12 championship game Saturday.

Arizona State, Iowa State, BYU and Colorado all tied for first place in the Big 12 with 7-2 league records. But league tiebreakers determined Arizona State and Iowa State would play for the Big 12 championship Saturday, not BYU or Colorado.

Will Travis Hunter and Shedeur Sanders play in the bowl game?

Yes, according to Deion Sanders. Both are expected to be top picks in the NFL draft in April. Playing in a non-playoff bowl game like this could risk an injury that would damage their draft stock and earnings potential. That’s why many college players opt out of playing in games like these.

But Sanders is not having that.

“Our kids are gonna play in our bowl game, because that’s what we signed up to do and we’re gonna finish,” Sanders said after his team beat Oklahoma State in its regular-season finale.

Having both players play will be a viewership boon for the Alamo Bowl, which will be televised by ABC at 7:30 p.m. ET on a Saturday night. Hunter, the cornerback-receiver, is the leading candidate to win the Heisman Trophy on Dec. 14. Shedeur Sanders also is a possible Heisman finalist and has already won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award as the nation’s top quarterback. He will face a BYU team that is tied for No. 1 nationally with 20 interceptions.

What is the Alamo Bowl payout?

It’s $9.8 million combined, but since both of these teams are from the Big 12, that money would all go to the Big 12. That and other money from postseason games is later distributed to league members through revenue sharing.

Buffaloes have been here before

The Buffs’ last two bowl games were in the Alamo Bowl – 2016 and 2020. Both were blowout losses to Big 12 teams. Some Colorado fans might not be thrilled to be returning to San Antonio for that reason and might not have minded dropping to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego instead – which has the next pick among former Pac-12 teams.  

“That is something to consider but in 2020 our attendance was capped at 11,000 so very few fans made that trip,” Alamo Bowl Vice President Rick Hill told USA TODAY Sports. “Plus, we think our Saturday, December 28 at 6:30 p.m. (Central time) kickoff is ideal for travel and both teams will appreciate the opportunity to play in front of 60,000+ fans on ABC in the conference’s top non-CFP bowl.”

This will be the first major college bowl game for Sanders as coach after the Buffs finished 4-8 last year in his first season. The Buffs finished 23rd in the playoff rankings announced Sunday. BYU finished 17th, ahead of Iowa State at 18th. Big 12 champion Arizona State finished 12th.

Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. Email: bschrotenb@usatoday.com

The end of the 2024 NFL season isn’t just about which teams will play themselves into playoff contention. It’s also about which teams will set themselves up to hold premium picks in the 2025 NFL draft.

Fans of the Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders and New York Giants haven’t had much to cheer about in 2024, but at least there is a silver lining to their terrible seasons. Each team is in the running for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NFL draft, so at this point, losing might be the best option for each squad.

Two of those teams complied with their fans’ wishes. The Raiders lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28-13 in a game during which quarterback Aidan O’Connell was carted off in an air cast with a knee injury. Meanwhile, the Giants nearly came from 11 down against the New Orleans Saints, but Graham Gano’s game-tying field goal with just seconds remaining in regulation was blocked, giving the Saints a 14-11 win.

But the Jaguars found a way to win. They earned a 10-6 victory in a defensive battle against the Tennessee Titans. Tank Bigsby scored the decisive – and only – touchdown of the game while Mac Jones overcame a couple of first-half interceptions in a to play a clean second half.

As a result, Jacksonville no longer has the inside track for the No. 1 pick. The Raiders and Giants will jockey for that ignominious honor while the Jaguars, among others, lurk among the three-win teams looking to get in the mix for the top selection.

NFL STATS CENTRAL: The latest NFL scores, schedules, odds, stats and more.

Here’s a look at the updated draft order as results come in for the NFL’s Week 14 Sunday slate.

2025 NFL Draft order

Here’s how the 2025 NFL draft order shakes out as most Week 14 action is wrapped up on Sunday, according to Tankathon.com:

Las Vegas Raiders: 2-11 record; .535 strength of schedule
New York Giants: 2-11; .544 SOS
New England Patriots: 3-10; .462 SOS
Carolina Panthers: 3-10; .488 SOS
Jacksonville Jaguars: 3-10; .493 SOS
Tennessee Titans: 3-10; .516 SOS
New York Jets: 3-10; .516 SOS
Cleveland Browns: 3-10; .523 SOS
Cincinnati Bengals: 4-8; .486 SOS
Chicago Bears: 4-8; .562 SOS
New Orleans Saints: 5-8; .484 SOS
Dallas Cowboys: 5-7; .516 SOS
San Francisco 49ers: 5-7; .564 SOS
Miami Dolphins: 6-7; .419 SOS
Indianapolis Colts: 6-7; .484 SOS
Atlanta Falcons: 6-6; .521 SOS
Los Angeles Rams: 6-6; .526 SOS
Arizona Cardinals: 6-6; .533 SOS
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 7-6; .498 SOS
Seattle Seahawks: 7-5; .507 SOS
Washington Commanders: 8-5; .440 SOS
Denver Broncos: 8-5; .484 SOS
Houston Texans: 8-5; .488 SOS
Baltimore Ravens: 8-5; .530 SOS
Los Angeles Chargers: 8-4; .461 SOS
Green Bay Packers: 9-4; .558 SOS
Pittsburgh Steelers: 10-3; .463 SOS
Minnesota Vikings: 11-2; .488 SOS
Buffalo Bills: 10-2; .458 SOS
Philadelphia Eagles: 11-2; .433 SOS
Kansas City Chiefs: 11-1; .486 SOS
Detroit Lions: 12-1; .535 SOS

2025 NFL draft: No. 1 overall pick odds

According to BetMGM, the following college football players entered Week 14 expected to be among the top potential picks in the 2025 NFL Draft.

Shedeur Sanders, QB, Colorado: +100
Travis Hunter, WR/CB, Colorado: +250
Cameron Ward, QB, Miami (FL): +750
Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama: +2200
Mykel Williams, DE, Georgia: +2800

The expansion to the 12-team College Football Playoff could not have arrived at a better time for the CFP committee.

If you thought the committee had difficult decisions for a potential 12-team field, it looks even more challenging to decide based on a four-team field. There has never been a two-loss team to make the CFP field, but the committee would have had to make a difficult decision regarding conference champions from the SEC, Big 12 and ACC this season.

Here’s a look at how a potential four-team College Football Playoff field would look using the final CFP rankings from the committee:

Projecting a four-team College Football Playoff

Oregon (13-0)
Georgia (11-2)
Texas (11-2)
Penn State (11-2)

The first two teams are in and likely without much debate. Oregon was the only undefeated FBS team this season and won the Big Ten Conference, which featured four playoff teams in the 12-team bracket. The Ducks belong and can prove in the next month that they are the best team in college football this season.

Georgia is also a shoo-in as the SEC champion, as historically, the SEC champion has not been left out of the bracket. It is also hard to argue that the Big Ten and the SEC were not the two best conferences in college football this season.

After that, projecting the field gets more challenging, but going off the committee’s final rankings, Texas and Penn State make it two teams for the SEC and Big Ten, respectively. The Longhorns’ only two losses this season came at the hands of the Bulldogs, including a 22-19 overtime loss on Saturday. It would be hard to leave Texas out of the field.

Likewise, the Nittany Lions pushed the best team in college football to its final drive before the Ducks could kneel out the clock for the victory. Penn State’s two losses for the season were to Ohio State and Oregon.

Who is snubbed from the 4-team College Football Playoff?

Notre Dame is the first team out of the field with an 11-1 record and the No. 5 overall ranking. The Fighting Irish won 10 straight to end the season, but a loss to Northern Illinois in a pay game could be a reason for the committee to leave them out. The Fighting Irish were not eligible for a first-round bye due to not playing in a conference.

The No. 6 Buckeyes and No. 7 Tennessee would be the following two teams left out, as would an 11-1 Indiana program. Neither team played in a conference championship game, like Notre Dame. It would be hard to justify Ohio State or Tennessee over Penn State and Texas, respectively, as neither played in the conference championship game.

In a four-team field, ACC champion Clemson and Big 12 champion Arizona State would also receive much more consideration as conference champions. But the Tigers lost three games and the Sun Devils were not as highly regarded. Arizona State finished No. 12 in the final rankings, while Clemson was No. 16.

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart provided a brief injury update on quarterback Carson Beck on Sunday.

The ninth-year coach announced during his appearance on ESPN during the network’s College Football Playoff selection show that Georgia is still awaiting MRI test results on Beck – putting his status for the CFP as the No. 2 seed up in the air.

Beck sustained an upper-body injury in the winding seconds of the first half of Saturday’s SEC championship win over No. 4 Texas at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on a sack.

‘I’m still trying to get that knowledge myself. He did get to have an MRI this morning. We should be getting those results here in the next few hours,’ Smart said Sunday on ESPN.

Beck finished 7 of 13 passing for 56 yards in the first half against Texas in the SEC championship. The 6-foot-4 quarterback ranks third in the SEC among quarterbacks in passing yards this season at 3,485 and first in touchdown passes at 28.

Here’s the latest on Becks’ injury as Georgia heads into its first-round bye of the College Football Playoff:

Carson Beck injury update

Beck sustained an upper-body injury in the final play of the first half of Saturday’s SEC championship game.

The injury itself came on a Hail Mary attempt near the 50-yard line at Mercedes Benz Stadium when he was taken down by Texas’ Trey Moore for a sack. Members of Georgia’s training staff immediately ran out onto the field to tend to Beck after the play was finished.

Shortly after being ruled out for the second half, ABC’s broadcast showed Beck getting his right elbow wrapped in ice by a trainer on the sidelines.

After being sidelined for the entire second half, Beck returned on the last play of the game to hand the ball off to Trevor Etienne, who scored the game-winning touchdown for the Bulldogs. The reason Beck had to come back in the game was because Georgia backup quarterback Gunner Stockton got his helmet popped off following a hit at the end of a run.

Kirby Smart provides update on Carson Beck

Smart said on Sunday that the Bulldogs still don’t know the extent of Beck’s injury and his status for the CFP, as they are awaiting his MRI results.

‘I’m still trying to get that knowledge myself. He did get to have an MRI this morning. We should be getting those results here in the next few hours,’ Smart said Sunday on ESPN.

‘We did just have a team meeting. He was there for the team meeting but we don’t know much more than we knew last night as of right now. We should be finding something out here soon.’

What is Carson Beck’s injury?

Smart told reporters in Atlanta after the SEC championship game that Beck has an upper-body injury. 

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After a shocking turn of events, the Alabama Crimson Tide will not contend for a national championship. Rather, they are the first team out of the 12-team College Football Playoff. While several college football fans are ecstatic that such a big school still had to earn its place in the CFP, others are concerned that this year’s playoff does not consist of the 12 best teams in college football.

Regardless, the field has been set. SMU is in. Clemson is in. Boise State has earned the No. 3 seed. A team outside the top 10 has earned a first-round bye. It’s a beautiful mess, bound to spark debate, outrage and intrigue until the format for next year’s playoff is revealed.

So, who’s expected to hoist the trophy when all is said and done? Here’s every team in the 12-team playoff ranked based on their championship odds. All odds are courtesy of BetMGM.

College Football Playoff power rankings

Oregon (+325)
Georgia (+350)
Texas (+375)
Ohio State (+450)
Penn State (+700)
Notre Dame (+1200)
Tennessee (+2500)
SMU (+3500)
Clemson (+4000)
Arizona State (+4000)
Indiana (+5000)
Boise State (+5000)

Among these teams, Notre Dame, with only one loss on their resume, could be a sleeper. Sure, the Fighting Irish have yet to play anyone elite, and their games against USC and Louisville were closer than fans would have liked. But this is still a team that has displayed dominance as well. Their massive wins over Army and Navy cannot be overlooked. While Notre Dame could very easily wind up crumbling under the pressure of having to face an elite opponent once the time comes, it is the only team with +1000 odds or greater with a program history of success against top opponents.

Texas is another team that, although its payout wouldn’t be as grand, has a pretty easy path to the semifinals. The 5-seed in this year’s tournament might have the easiest draw of all. The Longhorns get the lowest-seeded team in the tournament, Clemson, in the first round. Waiting in the quarterfinals would be a matchup against the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament, Arizona State. Given that both of Texas’ losses came against Georgia, and the two can’t meet in the playoffs until the national championship game, the Longhorns could very easily coast to the final and never have to face the one team that has proven capable of beating them.

When does College Football Playoff start?

All first-round games will take place at the home field of the higher-seeded team and will be played on either Friday, Dec. 20 or Saturday, Dec. 21.

Full first-round schedule

All times Eastern

No. 5 Texas vs. No. 12 Clemson

Saturday, Dec. 21 at 4 p.m. | TNT, Max
Darrel K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas
Winner will play No. 4 Arizona State in quarterfinals in Chick Fil A Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025 at 1 p.m.

No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 11 SMU

Saturday, Dec. 21 at noon | TNT, Max
Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania
Winner will play No. 3 Boise State in quarterfinals in Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.

No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Indiana

Friday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. | ESPN, ABC
Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
Winner will play No. 2 Georgia in quarterfinals in Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025 at 8:45 p.m.

No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 9 Tennessee

Saturday, Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. | ESPN, ABC
Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
Winner will play No. 1 Oregon in quarterfinals in Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2025 at 5 p.m.

One year after sneaking into the College Football Playoff, Alabama football was left out of the newly formed 12-team CFP.

Entering Selection Sunday on the bubble for the CFP, the Crimson Tide were listed as one of the two ‘first teams out’ in Sunday’s final CFP rankings.

Earning the No. 11 seed over Alabama was SMU, who was upset in the ACC championship game on Saturday by Clemson.

The decision by the CFP selection committee to pick the Mustangs over the Crimson Tide has stirred up quite a debate within the college football circles following the rankings release — perhaps even started in the minutes following SMU’s loss Saturday.

According to ESPN’s College Football Power Index, Alabama had a higher FPI ranking (which measures a team’s true strength on net points scale) than SMU entering Sunday. The Crimson Tide were ranked at No. 4 compared to the Mustangs being at No. 13.

Here’s what CFP selection committee chair Warde Manuel said on Sunday on why the Mustangs won out the final seeding in the College Football Playoff:

Why did CFP select SMU over Alabama?

Alabama came into Sunday’s rankings with a 9-3 overall but a 5-3 record in SEC play, with two of those losses coming against then-unranked Vanderbilt and unranked Oklahoma. The only ‘ranked’ loss for Alabama came on Oct. 12 against Tennessee, which was given the No. 9 seed in the CFP bracket.

The Mustangs, in their first season in the ACC after coming over from the American Athletic Conference, suffered their only loss outside of Saturday vs Clemson in Week 2 vs BYU.

Manuel’s main point for SMU edging out Alabama came down to their overall wins, especially the Mustangs 8-0 conference record.

‘We looked at the number of wins that Alabama had against ranked components. We looked at SMU schedule and they were undefeated in conference. Their losses were to ranked teams, but we also looked at Alabama’s loss to unranked teams and it was quite a debate,’ Manuel said.

‘We value strength of schedule, that’s why Alabama as the three loss team is ranked ahead of other teams that have two losses. It is something that we talk about quite a bit. But in the balance of it in the way SMU played in that (ACC championship) game, losing in the last second field goal, great win by Clemson great game we just felt that in this particular case, SMU still had the nod at 10 above Alabama. But it’s no disrespect to Alabama strength of schedule. It is merely looking at the entire body of work for both teams.’

According to Manuel, who is the athletic director at Michigan, it seemed like the committee rewarded SMU for its comeback attempt Saturday vs. Clemson. Alabama’s loss to Oklahoma in Week 13 eliminated the Crimson Tide out of contention for playing in the SEC championship game.

Later in the interview, Manuel was asked about the message that could have been sent by the CFP committee if Alabama had made the field over SMU and vice versa. If Alabama were to get in, it would have sent the message conference championship games don’t matter though they do for the four first-round byes. But if SMU were to be left out, then there would be the message regarding the strength of schedule built in the non-conference.

‘On the conference side, you can’t control who you play,’ Manuel said on how to balance both messages. ‘You can’t control how those teams will be playing and how highly ranked they will be or not. But what we also value is competition and playing competition in the non-conference, if you schedule that way, or in the conference. We look at who these teams play.

He added: ‘Alabama is (a) three-loss (team). They’re ranked 11th in the country. We have to see them the way we’re asked to see them, but Alabama is the 11th-ranked team in the country with a strong schedule, even with some unranked losses’

SMU (11-2 overall, 8-0 in ACC play) will travel to Penn State in the first-round for a noon ET kick-off on Saturday, Dec. 21 at Beaver Stadium.