INDIANAPOLIS — The College Football Playoff will include two teams from the Midwest and two from the Southeastern Conference.
Top-seed Alabama will meet unbeaten Cincinnati, which claimed the fourth seed, on New Year's Eve in one semifinal to be played in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
In the other semifinal, second-seeded Michigan will meet third seed Georgia in the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Alabama beat previously unbeaten Georgia Saturday night the SEC title game and both teams finished 12-1.
Notre Dame, which lost to Cincinnati 24-13 in early October, finished fifth in the final rankings after making the playoffs in 2018 and 2020. That game essentially decided the fourth spot in the playoff field as the Irish finished 11-1 and, as an independent with ties to the Atlantic Coast Conference, did not play in a conference championship game.
Ohio State lost to Big Ten champion Michigan in its final regular season game and finished 6th. Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines won the Big Ten title game in Indianapolis Saturday by dominating Iowa.
The winners on New Year's Eve will meet in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis Jan. 10 to decide the national champion.