The race is on for a top-four finish and a bye through the opening round of this year’s College Football Playoff .

Based on the third playoff rankings of the year , at least half of the top four will be come from the Big Ten and SEC. The Big Ten has the top two in No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 Indiana, followed by the SEC with No. 3 Texas A&M and No. 4 Georgia.

One team that’s ready to pounce is No. 5 Texas Tech, which will have the chance to add a second win against No. 11 Brigham Young in the conference championship game if the Cougars can beat Cincinnati and Central Florida to end the regular season with just one loss. PATH TO PLAYOFF: Sign up for our college football newsletter

But with the Hoosiers and Buckeyes poised to face off in the Big Ten championship and the Aggies and

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