For years around this time of year, college football fans everywhere would be wondering who the top two teams in the BCS poll would be. However, the system changed from last year. The top four teams in the country, as determined by a panel, will compete in the college football playoffs. The No. 1 and No. 4 teams will compete against each other, as will the No. 2 and No. 3 teams. Then the winner of each game will play against each other to determine the national champion.

Last year’s national champion, Florida State, is still undefeated, and, barring an upset, will likely make it to the playoffs. They had a couple of scares against Louisville, Clemson, Oklahoma State and recently Miami, but they’ll still need to get past Florida, who pulled an upset over Georgia this year. If they do, the panel has no choice but to let the Seminoles in.

After losing to the now-best team in the country Alabama, Mississippi State sits at No. 4. They will need to win against Ole Miss to remain in the top four. Quarterback Dak Prescott has played a large role on the Mississippi State team; in just nine games, he has thrown for more than 2000 yards and 18 touchdowns. Mississippi State has been able to beat Auburn and LSU fairly easily this year, and if they play the way they did against those two teams, then Mississippi State could be marching to the playoffs.

It seems like Oregon is always in the conversation late in the season. This year, the Ducks look poised to make it to the playoffs barring a late stumble in the final stretch. In the committee’s eyes, Oregon is the No. 2 team in the country, leaping in front of No. 3 Florida State. They did lose to Arizona earlier in the year, but if Oregon takes care of business in the PAC 12 championship, they should be the second-ranked team.

Despite Alabama’s impressive win over Mississippi State, they’ll still likely need to win the SEC to make it into the playoffs. As a one-loss team, Alabama’s position is precarious, and with a slip from them and Mississippi State, the SEC might not even get a bid to the playoffs. Alabama will need to play solid defense against an at-times electric Auburn offense, however, before thinking about the SEC championship game.

After TCU’s shellacking of Kansas State, the team leapfrogged Alabama to grab the last spot in the playoffs. But now that Alabama has leaped to No. 1, TCU is left on the outside looking in at No. 5. TCU will need to win out, and to have someone ahead of them lose. After all, TCU does not play any noteworthy opponents the rest of the way, so they cannot bolster their resume.

As we head towards the committee’s decision, there will be controversy because one team will feel that they should be the one competing for the title. For now though, all the audience can do is speculate on what could happen. The controversy is what makes the season exciting, and it puts weight on every single game. No matter what happens, the end of the season will have many glued to their seats.