The College Football Playoff bracket is set, and while plenty of fans in South Bend, Provo and elsewhere are still shouting about various injustices inflicted upon them by the selection committee, soon enough the complaining will come to an end and we'll have actual football games to look forward to.
For all the belly-aching that's dominated the last few weeks, the 12-team format has left us with a bracket that's certainly not short on compelling matchups. But which teams are facing the clearest path to a national title? And on the other end, which teams got the short end of the stick?
We've ranked all 12 Playoff teams below by just how friendly their road to the final looks from here, with 1 the easiest and 12 the most difficult. And while there's been plenty of talk about how this playoff format has killed conference championship weekend, one look reveals how much difference a win or a loss can make in terms of a teams title hopes.
1. Indiana
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Alabama, Oklahoma
Potential semifinal opponent: Texas Tech, Oregon
What a difference a win makes. Indiana is the nation's lone remaining unbeaten and the top seed in the Playoff. Their reward? A quarterfinal matchup against one of two deeply flawed and untrustworthy SEC teams, and then a matchup against either a very banged-up Oregon (whom the Hoosiers already beat in Eugene earlier in the year) or a Texas Tech squad that, while physical, figures to have a very tough time with Indiana's defensive front. There are no cakewalks in this bracket, but this is the closest you can come.
2. Georgia
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Ole Miss
Potential semifinal opponent: Ohio State
Georgia's SEC title game romp over Alabama wasn't enough to jump ahead of Ohio State, but Kirby Smart and Co. still have to be feeling pretty good. They already beat Ole Miss once this season, and that was with Lane Kiffin and his coaching staff still around. And while Ohio State would be a war, the loss to Indiana showed the Buckeyes can in fact be beaten.
3. Texas Tech
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Oregon
Potential semifinal opponent: Indiana
It's hard to overstate just how profoundly the injury bug has bitten Oregon, particularly in the receiver room. Add in questions about OC Will Stein after he took the head job at Kentucky, and the Red Raiders should feel relatively confident about that quarterfinal matchup. Landing on Indiana's side of the bracket is a tough break, but hey: No one ever said making the national title game would be easy.
4. Oregon
First-round opponent: James Madison
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Texas Tech
Potential semifinal opponent: Indiana
All due respect to the Dukes, who have earned their shot at taking down Goliath, I think they'll be outmatched on the road at Autzen. From there, the path is nearly identical to the one Texas Tech gets above; the only difference is that Oregon has to face the Red Raiders, who I think will be a slight favorite in that matchup.
5. Ohio State
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Texas A&M/Miami
Potential semifinal opponent: Georgia
The Buckeyes were better short-yardage and/or red zone execution away from sitting pretty atop this bracket. Instead, they'll get either Miami or A&M in the quarterfinal, two teams who have scattershot quarterbacks but also boast ferocious defensive fronts that can short-circuit any offense if they get hot. Both the Canes and Aggies are capable of either losing to or beating anyone, and I think each could be just as dangerous as Texas Tech.
Then, of course, comes a date with the red-hot Dawgs. If Ryan Day manages to repeat, no one can say he won't have earned it.
6. Alabama
First-round opponent: Oklahoma
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Indiana
Potential semifinal opponent: Texas Tech/Oregon
To say that the Tide backed their way into the bracket would be a profound understatement. They'll start off with an Oklahoma team that doesn't have a functional offense but does boast a defensive mind in Brent Venables who can game plan with the best of them, and even if Bama manages to avenge its prior loss to the Sooners, it's really hard to imagine such a one-dimensional team beating Indiana right now.
7. Oklahoma
First-round opponent: Alabama
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Indiana
Potential semifinal opponent: Texas Tech/Oregon
The only reason I'm putting Oklahoma slightly below their opening-round opponent is because I have slightly more faith in the Tide to play quality football on both sides. I just do not trust the Sooners offense as far as I can throw it right now, and while the bracket would open up in a big way if either of these teams could spring the upset against the Hoosiers, how likely is that outcome?
8. Ole Miss
First-round opponent: Tulane
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Georgia
Potential semifinal opponent: Ohio State
Sure, the Rebels had no problem with Tulane in a 45-10 win earlier this year, although that was while the Green Wave were still acclimating to new starting QB Jake Retzlaff. Even assuming that the first round goes smoothly, it's hard to imagine a tougher 1-2 than Georgia followed by Ohio State, probably the second- and third-best teams in the country right now. This would be a gauntlet even if Ole Miss hadn't just had its coaching staff swiped out from under it.
9. James Madison
First-round opponent: Oregon
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Texas Tech
Potential semifinal opponent: Indiana
Being the No. 12 seed isn't supposed to be easy, and sure enough ... well, good luck to the Dukes. Oregon is banged up right now, sure, but a trip to Autzen is never easy. And even if they spring the upset there, they'll have to outlast Texas Tech and then likely Indiana in consecutive weeks. The three-game paths above have at least one potential soft spot, but no such luck here.
t10. Texas A&M, Miami
First-round opponent: Each other
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Ohio State
Potential semifinal opponent: Georgia
And yet, I'm still putting both A&M and Miami below them, because I think that each team's first-round opponent presents a danger almost equal to the Ducks and because the Ohio State/Georgia half of the bracket is just that brutal. This will be the most fascinating game of the opening round, and whichever team survives it will then have to beat two top-three teams in as many weeks to reach the final.
12. Tulane
First-round opponent: Ole Miss
Potential quarterfinal opponent: Georgia
Potential semifinal opponent: Ohio State
Ole Miss is in flux right now, but they've still earned more benefit of the doubt than either A&M or Miami based on the consistency Trinidad Chambliss and Co. have shown throughout the year. Maybe things fall apart without Kiffin and OC Charlie Weis Jr. around, but I'm not going to assume that until I see it. Adding the Rebels to Georgia and Ohio State leaves Tulane with clearly the toughest path through this Playoff.