College football games will be played this weekend, but not by the Oklahoma Sooners.
The No. 8 Sooners must watch Championship Weekend unfold as nearly every outcome could impact their situation in the College Football Playoff before the official 12-team bracket is released on Selection Sunday. As of now, the Sooners would host No. 9 Alabama for a rematch, but that likely won't stand, especially since the Crimson Tide play No. 3 Georgia in the SEC Championship Game.
There's a chance for a lot of chaos and debate over the weekend, but here's how the CFP bracket will likely look on Sunday and what path the Sooners will have to a national title. And this doesn't represent how I believe things should go on Selection Sunday, but how the committee will sort things out based on predicted results.
College Football Playoff bracket prediction
1. Ohio State
2. Georgia
3. Indiana
4. Texas Tech
This top 4, which all get a first-round bye, would mean Ohio State beats Indiana in the Big Ten Championship Game, Georgia gets revenge over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game and Texas Tech beats BYU again in the Big 12 Championship Game.
Ohio State and Indiana are playing for both a Big Ten title and the No. 1 spot. The loser will likely just fall to No. 3 below Georgia. Texas Tech should be ahead of the Big Ten runner-up, but this ranking avoids a possible rematch between Ohio State and Indiana in the semifinals. Regardless, the Red Raiders can still be happy about a first-round bye.
(12) North Texas at (5) Oregon
Oregon stays put after not playing, and North Texas sneaks in as the Group of Five representative after beating Tulane in the American Championship Game on Friday night. The winner would get No. 4 Texas Tech in the semifinals after a matchup with way too much green. The Sooners would then get the winner of that quarterfinal matchup in the semifinals.
(9) Notre Dame at (8) Oklahoma
After all the debate and wondering, the 8-vs-9 matchup would still end up being the same as it's been almost this entire time. No chaos is best for the Sooners, though, because they get to keep their home game in Norman and avoid a rematch with Alabama. OU also has the ability to shut down Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
The winner then gets the honor of taking on the top seed in Ohio State, which has a freshman quarterback for Brent Venables to terrorize. After that, it's likely Texas Tech or Oregon in the semifinals. Again, no chaos creates the best situation for the Sooners.
(11) Virgnia at (6) Ole Miss
Virginia fights off five-loss Duke in the ACC Championship Game for an automatic bid to get Ole Miss in its first game without head coach Lane Kiffin on the sidelines. The winner then plays No. 3 Indiana.
(10) Alabama at (7) Texas A&M
Texas A&M watches as Alabama can't beat Georgia for a second time this season. The committee has promised not to fault a team for losing in a conference championship game, so Bama stays in the 12-team field with three losses, but still drops a spot below Notre Dame, even if it's just to avoid a first-round rematch between the Crimson Tide and Sooners. However, this scenario does have the risk of Alabama and Georgia meeting for the third time in the quarterfinals.
If the committee does knock the Crimson Tide for that championship loss, though, there will be debate between Miami, Vanderbilt, BYU and maybe even Texas taking their spot.