Georgia will make the College Football Playoff for the first time when the four-team field is announced on Sunday. But the No. 4 spot is the most tightly contested and debated.

Ohio State and Alabama are the two likely suitors after the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Championship Game over previously unbeaten Wisconsin. The Tide were idle this weekend.

Alabama has one loss, at Auburn, but no high-quality wins. Its best are LSU and Mississippi State. Ohio State has quality wins over Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan State, but two blowout losses to Oklahoma and Iowa.

College Football Playoff projections

There will be a raging debate when it comes to the No. 4 seed. Should one-loss Alabama get into the playoff, or two-loss Ohio State? The Crimson Tide were nearly unbeatable, but the Buckeyes have a stronger set of wins. The committee could be scared off by OSU’s ugly loss at Iowa and beatdown at the hands of Oklahoma — not to mention a horrible performance vs. Clemson in the CFP semifinals last season, which isn’t supposed to matter but might.

Clemson hammered Miami for the ACC title Saturday night and its spot as the likely No. 1 seed is secure. Oklahoma blew out TCU in the Big 12 title game to seal a spot in the final four. Ditto for Georgia after its win over Auburn in the SEC Championship Game.

Georgia certainly won’t be No. 1 after Clemson’s performance, meaning the Bulldogs will probably be No. 2 or No. 3 and play in the Rose Bowl. It’s unlikely they fall to No. 4. The Tigers get the Sugar Bowl because its closer to Clemson, South Carolina, and they’re the higher seed.

Here’s our projected final College Football Playoff rankings for the 2017 season.

  1. Clemson
  2. Oklahoma
  3. Georgia
  4. Ohio State
  5. Alabama
  6. Auburn
  7. USC
  8. Wisconsin
  9. Penn State
  10. Miami
  11. Washington
  12. UCF
  13. TCU
  14. Stanford
  15. Notre Dame
  16. Michigan State
  17. LSU
  18. Washington State
  19. Oklahoma State
  20. Memphis
  21. Northwestern
  22. Virginia Tech
  23. Mississippi State
  24. N.C. State
  25. Boise State

2017 college football bowl projections

  • Sugar: No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Ohio State
  • Rose: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3Georgia

New Year’s Six projections

  • Orange (ACC vs. top non-champ from SEC/Big Ten/Notre Dame) — Miami vs. Alabama
  • Cotton (At-large vs. At-large) — USC  vs. Wisconsin
  • Fiesta (At-large vs. At-large) — Washington vs. Penn State
  • Peach (At-large vs. At-large/Top Group of 5 champ) — Auburn vs. UCF

Power 5 projections

  • Taxslayer (ACC/Big Ten vs. SEC) — Virginia Tech vs. Texas A&M
  • Belk (ACC vs. SEC) — N.C. State vs. Missouri
  • Citrus (Big Ten vs. SEC) — Michigan State vs. LSU
  • Outback (Big Ten vs. SEC) — Michigan vs. South Carolina
  • Holiday (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) — Northwestern vs. Stanford
  • Music City (Big Ten/ACC vs. SEC) — Iowa vs. Kentucky
  • Pinstripe (Big Ten vs. ACC) — Purdue vs. Boston College
  • Texas (SEC vs. Big 12) — Mississippi State vs. Texas
  • Liberty (SEC vs. Big 12) — Memphis vs. Iowa State
  • Birmingham (SEC vs. AAC) — West Virginia (SEC replacement) vs. South Florida
  • Independence (SEC vs. ACC) — Western Michigan (SEC replacement) vs. Wake Forest
  • Alamo (Big 12 vs. Pac-12) — TCU vs. Washington State
  • Russell Athletic (ACC/Notre Dame vs. Big 12) — Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State
  • Sun (ACC vs. Pac-12) — Louisville vs. Arizona State
  • Las Vegas (Pac-12 vs. MWC) — Oregon vs. Boise State
  • Military (ACC vs. AAC) — Virginia vs. Navy
  • Cactus (Pac-12 vs. Big 12) — UCLA vs. Kansas State
  • Heart of Dallas (Big Ten vs. Big 12) — Utah (Big Ten replacement) vs. Texas Tech
  • Foster Farms (Big Ten vs. Pac-12) — San Diego State State (Big Ten replacement) vs. Arizona
  • Quick Lane (Big Ten vs. ACC) — Central Michigan (Big Ten replacement) vs. Duke