Forget the committee and its attendant controversies — what’s done is done. Save the Jim Mora incantations for another day. This expanded format is about moving forward. It’s time for the College Football Playoff, and there’s so much to appreciate across Friday and Saturday.

The first round rolls out in style with four games at home sites. CFP proceedings whisk us from the northwest greens of Oregon to the red clay plains of Mississippi. We get to see historic juggernauts like Alabama and Miami, plus once-in-a-lifetime breakouts like Tulane and James Madison. Winners advance to the quarterfinals on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. Losers have to regroup, then recruit along the sport’s shifting landscape.

Below, we’ve sorted the four first-round draws by national appeal and neutral watchability. Each of these pairings could pop off as must-see TV, though, so drop a comment to let us know what we slept on.

All times ET and all odds via BetMGM.

CFP watch guide, first round

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GameTimeTVStream

Alabama at Oklahoma

8 p.m., Fri.

ABC, ESPN

Miami at Texas A&M

Noon, Sat.

ABC, ESPN

Tulane at Ole Miss

3:30 p.m., Sat.

TNT

HBO Max

James Madison at Oregon

7:30 p.m., Sat.

TNT

HBO Max

ABC is free over the air. ABC and all ESPN programs also stream on ESPN Unlimited.

4. Tulane (No. 11) at Ole Miss (No. 6)

Saturday, 3:30 p.m.
Vaught-Hemingway Stadium — Oxford, Miss.

Like the other game that summons beyond the power conferences (Oregon-James Madison), Tulane and Ole Miss are separated by a sizable spread. Unlike Oregon, though, Ole Miss is dealing with a messy coaching situation. As his now-former team plays the biggest game in program history, Lane Kiffin sifts through purple visor collections and Baton Rouge yoga studio class passes. That puts Kiffin’s successor, Pete Golding, in unprecedented waters.

The quarterback matchup is fascinating as well. SEC members have far greater resources than their American Conference contemporaries, of course. But Green Wave QB Jake Retzlaff transferred from BYU, and Rebels QB Trinidad Chambliss joined from Division II school Ferris State. Chambliss is a blast to watch — 18 touchdowns to three interceptions on 9.1 yards per pass attempt, with fearlessness outside the pocket and subwoofer keeper runs in the red zone. Ole Miss’ offense has a second spotlight piece in Kewan Lacy (20 rushing TDs, track-and-field speed).

Jon Sumrall has kept Tulane a stable entity in his two seasons as head coach. The Green Wave shouldn’t crest despite his tide pulling from swampy New Orleans to even swampier Gainesville. It’s the CFP, so mayhem is on the table, and the table is made of Superball rubber. As it stands, though, there’s not much on-field juice in this rematch from earlier in the season. The Rebels won that Sept. 20 meeting 45-10, and they almost doubled up the Wave in total yardage (548 to 282).

The broadcast: Regardless of result, Joe Tessitore and Jesse Palmer should have infinite conversation pieces in the booth. They’ll be calling the game for TNT, which is home to two first-round telecasts for the second year in a row. Next year, the network adds two CFP quarterfinal games and one semifinal.

3. James Madison (No. 12) at Oregon (No. 5)

Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Autzen Stadium — Eugene, Ore.

Aesthetically, this might be our clubhouse leader. The visitors are rocking white jerseys and purple accents. The hosts go loud with green-on-yellow uniforms. Scenic Autzen Stadium is a top-10 college football venue.

Oregon can put on a show with the ninth-best scoring offense (averaging more than 38 points). Quarterback Dante Moore has tremendous arm talent and a playmaker’s release. The Athletic’s scouting guru Dane Brugler has Moore at No. 2 in his latest mock draft. The Ducks’ top receiving target, tight end Kenyon Sadiq, is a perpetual mismatch at the second level. Noah Whittington brings a rush of blood to the running game, and the senior surely wants to go out with a bang (a quack?) Saturday night.

The potential imbalance is what brings down our watchability ranking. James Madison has earned its spot, but we can’t ignore oddsmakers giving Oregon a three-touchdown spread. Both sides arrive with a one loss — Oregon fell to unbeaten and top-ranked Indiana, while James Madison came up short against mercurial Louisville in early September.

To rip an upset, the Sun Belt champions need to pound the rock (fifth in rushing yards per game) and warp the line of scrimmage (18th in sacks per game). Wayne Knight can script highlights from the backfield, a coolness compounded by his 5-foot-7 stature. Edge rusher Sahir West is a force, and our college football editors laced him with Freshman All-America respect. A close finish can’t be ruled out … it would just involve ground-down clock control from outgoing coach Bob Chesney, who is headed to UCLA in 2026.

The broadcast: Everything shines beneath the floodlights of this late window. Bob Wischusen and Louis Riddick lead the game broadcast. The TNT on-site postgame program is hosted by Adam Lefkoe, with three former football stars (Champ Bailey, Takeo Spikes and Victor Cruz) in tow. The Oregon Duck mascot really levels up for on-campus national productions.

2. Alabama (No. 9) at Oklahoma (No. 8)

Friday, 8 p.m.
Memorial Stadium — Norman, Okla.

Norman is going to be loud. The “Boomer Sooner” chant will indeed boom. As the slate’s lone conference matchup (and the only one with matching colors), this game should have a pure November prime-time feel. And that tracks, because these two faced off a month ago. On Nov. 15, the Sooners tuned out the Tuscaloosa faithful and notched an impressive 23-21 road win. Brent Venables’ defense went mask-off monster mode in that game. Final damage report: three takeaways, four sacks, 2.4 yards allowed per carry. Now for the home-field rebuttal.

Oklahoma’s John Mateer has been conducting the makeshift offense through a broken hand, which he suffered in late September. At Monday’s practice, Venables acknowledged that his quarterback was throwing without his protective wrap for the first time since the injury. No matter Mateer’s readiness, the Sooners funnel everything through the other side of scrimmage, and they’ll approach the rematch as a de facto “first to 20” showdown. With 41 sacks in 12 games, Oklahoma has tied Texas A&M as the nation’s most productive pass rush.

After its SEC championship game sputter versus Georgia, three-loss Alabama looked to be on the short side of the Playoff pool. Instead, this is the Tide’s chance to double-bounce the diving board and go for a cannonball. Behind Kalen DeBoer’s scheme and Ryan Grubb’s play sheet, Bama slinger Ty Simpson (26 TDs, 5 INTs) gets a green light with a crimson tint. The Athletic’s latest mock draft has him as a first-round talent. He threw 42 passes in the last Oklahoma game, and his pocket presence will be tested wire-to-wire Friday night.

And if someone could please text WR1 Germie Bernard and remind him to bring the polarized lenses; he was tripped up by the Memorial Stadium lights on his last visit.

This is the marquee game for those who prefer rock fights. The November edition was settled by two points, although the fourth quarter produced a single field goal. An acquired taste, but a strong one.

The broadcast: Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit are lined up for broadcast duties. They’re right at home as the top duo for SEC showcases on “ABC Saturday Night Football,” and they did the conference championship game earlier this month. For local flavors and higher camera angles, turn to the ESPN alternate “SkyCast” views — Oklahoma’s radio call on ESPN2, Alabama’s on the SEC Network.

1. Miami (No. 10) at Texas A&M (No. 7)

Saturday, noon
Kyle Field — College Station, Texas

Who isn’t digging this game? All right, fine … who isn’t digging this game outside of South Bend? Both sides share a heart-pumping win at Notre Dame’s expense. Both have shiny, limitless new transfer portal funds. The similarities run deeper, and the symmetry is on a Wes Anderson level.

The A&M offense averages a tick above 36 points per game; Miami puts up 34.1. Aggies QB Marcel Reed has thrown 25 touchdowns to 10 interceptions, which is the precise line for Canes counterpart Carson Beck. The hosts anchor around motorized end Cashius Howell (11 1/2 sacks), and the guests rally around edge menace Rueben Bain Jr. (4 1/2 sacks). Both grade out as NFL first-rounders in 2026. A&M’s gnarly front seven collapses time on opposing dropbacks. Miami matches by brick-walling rushers, holding them to 2.9 yards per carry.

One glaring difference lingers. The Hurricanes won five national championships between 1983 and 2001, a stretch that fashioned Miami into a national brand with propulsive swagger. The Aggies, meanwhile, haven’t had any claim to an NCAA title since 1939, which has rendered them as sleeping giants and hex victims. Game on. Bill Connelly’s SP+ predictive model has this coming down to a 29-26 finish.

The broadcast: Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy are on the mic at Kyle Field. “Field Pass with The Pat McAfee Show” goes down on ESPN2. Alternate “SkyCasts” land via ACC and SEC Networks for the respective programs. And Bleacher Report taps Johnny Manziel for “B/R No Huddle” field-side correspondence. Thumbs up from College Station, and hands to U-formation in South Beach.

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