By The Associated Press

The latest on the College Football Playoff’s 12-team bracket reveal (all times Eastern):

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How close is it between Alabama and SMU? Very.

If the AP Top 25 is a sign, choosing between Alabama and SMU will be a brutal task for the committee.

The margin between Alabama and SMU in the AP Top 25: one point.

Alabama got 838 points from the 62 voters in the AP poll. SMU got 837.

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If the AP Top 25 decided the bracket, it’d be good for ’Bama, bad for SMU

The final AP Top 25 of the regular season is out. No surprise: Oregon is No. 1.

The rest of the top 12: No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 7 Tennessee, No. 8 Boise State, No. 9 Indiana, No. 10 Arizona State, No. 11 Alabama and No. 12 SMU. ACC champion Clemson is No. 13.

So … what would that mean?

If the committee ranks the top 12 the same way as AP voters did this morning, these would be the matchups (remember, the four highest-ranked conference champions get the top-four seeds, and the fifth highest-ranked conference champion — No. 13 Clemson — makes the field.)

– No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Notre Dame. Winner gets No. 4 Arizona State. – No. 11 Alabama at No. 6 Texas. Winner gets No. 3 Boise State. – No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Penn State. Winner gets No. 2 Georgia. – No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State. Winner gets No. 1 Oregon. The first team out in this scenario: SMU.

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How to watch: ESPN’s all-day coverage of CFP selections

ESPN’s selection show will begin at noon. It’ll last four hours, and that’s not anywhere close to the total coverage.

Here’s the big headline: Within the first 30 minutes or so of that show starting, you’ll know who made the 12-team field. Within the first hour, you’ll know the full CFP top 25.

There’s a two-hour pre-selection show that starts at 10 a.m. on ESPN2 and ESPNU, and then three hours of post-show dissection from 4-7 p.m., split between ESPN and ESPN2.

There will also be two-hour shows on SEC Network (starting at 6 p.m.) and ACC Network (starting at 8 p.m.) discussing all things playoffs and bowls from those conferences. And back on ESPN starting at 8:30 p.m., there’s another 2-1/2 hour show discussing all the day’s selections.

And if all that still wasn’t enough, ESPN is planning digital shows at 1 p.m. (selection reaction) and 3 p.m. (the championship picture) on its College Football YouTube channel and Facebook page.

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When are the playoff games?

The College Football Playoff starts Dec. 20 and ends Jan. 20. There will be 11 games, all broadcast nationally.

Here’s how it’ll work:

First-round games

-Friday, Dec. 20: Game at 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

-Saturday, Dec. 21: Games at noon (TNT), 4 p.m. (TNT) and 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN)

Quarterfinals

-Dec. 31: Fiesta Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Peach Bowl, 1 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Rose Bowl, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 1: Sugar Bowl, 8:45 p.m. (ESPN)

Semifinals

-Jan. 9: Orange Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

-Jan. 10: Cotton Bowl, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

National championship

-Jan. 20: At Atlanta, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN)

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How does CFP seeding work?

It’s a 12-team field for the College Football Playoff. That doesn’t mean the top 12 teams in Sunday’s final rankings will get into the field. In fact, that probably won’t happen.

The five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots in the field, and the next seven highest-ranked teams also get in. That means if one or more of the highest-ranked conference champions are ranked lower than No. 12, some of the teams in the top 12 will get bumped from the tournament.

The expectation this year is that the Big 12 winner won’t be ranked in the top 12, so the No. 12 team – it was Miami in the most recent ranking – would be out of the tournament.

Another nuance: the four top-ranked conference champions will have the top four seeds. That means Boise State (which almost certainly won’t crack the top 4) will be seeded no worse than No. 4. And Notre Dame, since it isn’t in a conference, can’t be seeded higher than No. 5.

Seeds 1, 2, 3 and 4 get first-round byes. Seeds 5-12 will play first-round games with 5-8 hosting. There is no reseeding; the bracket will be set Sunday afternoon. The No. 1 seed will play the 8 vs. 9 winner, the No. 2 seed will play the 7 vs. 10 winner, the No. 3 seed will play the 6 vs. 11 winner and the No. 4 seed will play the 5 vs. 12 winner.

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Who’s on the CFP selection committee?

There are 13 members of the College Football Playoff selection committee. It is chaired by Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.

The other committee members:

-Chris Ault, former Nevada coach

-Chet Gladchuk, athletic director at Navy

-Jim Grobe, former Wake Forest coach

-Randall McDaniel, former Arizona State player

-Gary Pinkel, former Missouri and Toledo coach

-Mack Rhoades, athletic director at Baylor

-Mike Riley, former Nebraska and Oregon State coach

-David Sayler, athletic director at Miami of Ohio

-Will Shields, former Nebraska player

-Kelly Whiteside, former sportswriter at USA Today, Newsday and Sports Illustrated

-Carla Williams, athletic director at Virginia

-Hunter Yurachek, athletic director at Arkansas

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