How the new college football playoff will work

THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF is entering a new era this season, with a 12-team format for the first time since its 2014 introduction _—_ when the Buckeyes won it all. WHY IT MATTERS: More

teams have a shot at competing for a national championship as the field expands beyond a four-team setup. STATE OF PLAY: Ohio State (7-1) is No. 2 in the first rankings released Tuesday

night. * Rankings will come out each Tuesday leading up to the final list on Sunday, Dec. 8.  * The rankings highlight the nation's strongest teams, but eventual playoff seeds will

follow a formula. HOW IT'LL WORK: The five highest-ranked conference champions will automatically make the playoffs. The top four of that group will be seeded No. 1-4 and have a

first-round bye. * Of the remaining teams, those seeded No. 5-12 will face off Dec. 20-21 in a bracket-style Round 1 hosted by the higher seed. * The winners will play the four conference

champions in the quarterfinals Dec. 31-Jan. 1.  * Two semifinal bowls on Jan. 9-10 and a Jan. 20 National Championship game in Atlanta will follow. ZOOM IN: It will be tough for Ohio State

to earn the first-round bye after losing to new Big Ten foe Oregon. YES, BUT: OSU is still in decent shape. Even another regular season loss would leave the team in a good position for a

playoff spot.