It's official! Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma are Final Four

December 2, 2018 by Staff

Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma are Final Four. Georgia is 5th and Ohio State 6th.

Alabama and Oklahoma will face-off in one semifinal at the Orange Bowl,  while Clemson and Notre Dame will meet in the Cotton Bowl. Both of the semifinal games will take place on December 29 with the winners advancing to the CFP Championship game on December 7 in Santa Clara.

According to the preseason projections based on the Congrove Computer Rankings, Clemson, Michigan State, Oklahoma, and USC were the four teams destined to make the Final Four this year. The Tigers and Sooners got in, and that means the computer has predicted half the field four times since the playoff format began. The 2016 season has been the only season in which only one correct team (Alabama) was projected. One of its preseason Final Four picks has made it to the championship game in all 4 previous seasons.

The 2018 preseason rankings correctly projected the champions in 5 of the 10 conferences - the ACC, Big 12, MAC, SEC and Sun Belt. It also tabbed Notre Dame as top Independent. It correctly pegged 11 division winners, including both sides of the Mountain West and the American.

The computer also nailed the exact final regular season record of 24 teams, and came within 1 win or loss on 40 teams.

See the complete Bowl Schedule and pairings.

Check back later for our complete preview of the bowl season, picks of every bowl game, confidence points picks, feature picks and more.