The 10 games that will determine the 2020 College Football Playoff field

4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish at North Carolina Tar Heels

While the ACC Championship game between presumptively the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Clemson Tigers to even take place, both ACC teams have to get there. Though neither team is expected to drop a game before that title bout, Norte Dame is a bit vulnerable on the road vs. the North Carolina Tar Heels on Friday. If the Irish slip up, they may not make the playoff after all.

If Notre Dame loses on the road to North Carolina, it will take away all positive momentum the Golden Domers have run with this season. Though they do seem to match up well with Clemson, do you really expect Notre Dame to beat the Tigers twice this year? Notre Dame can get in as a Power 5 champion or as a one-loss, at-large team, but that is it for the Irish.

3. Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida Gators (SEC Championship Game)

For all intents and purposes, the SEC Champion is getting in as a top-two seed, no matter what else happens. If the top-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide win out, they will retain the No. 1 seed. Should the No. 6-seeded Florida Gators win out, they just might do enough to climb up as high as the No. 2 seed, assuming there is no undefeated Power 5 champion deservingly ahead of them.

The reason this game is so high up on this pecking order is what happens if Florida upsets Alabama. Florida would get in as a one-loss, Power 5 champion, but would the Crimson Tide still get in as a one-loss, at-large team? The only conference that carries more weight historically in the Selection Committee’s eyes than the ACC is the SEC, and that could matter again in 2020.