The final decision now rests in the hands of the College Football Playoff selection committee. It won't be hard to settle on this year's top four.
It'll be Alabama, Michigan, Georgia and Cincinnati, likely in that order, after Saturday's run of conference championships simplified a playoff chase that seemed destined for chaos as recently as late November.
The more difficult choices will come in filling out the slate of New Year's Six games, which are influenced by where the committee ranks teams outside the top four.
Here's how the top of the final playoff rankings should look: