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12/08 11:29 CST Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State get top four seeds in College Football Playoff Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State get top four seeds in College Football Playoff By EDDIE PELLS AP National Writer Oregon earned the top seed in the College Football Playoff, while Alabama and SMU waited to hear whether they would make it into the 12-team field. As expected, the selection committee anointed the undefeated Ducks as the favorite Sunday, while ESPN dragged out the tension on the panel's biggest decision -- whether two-loss SMU or three-loss Alabama would nab the last spot. Georgia, the SEC champion, was seeded second; Boise State, the Mountain West champion, earned the third seed; and Big 12 titlist Arizona State got the fourth seed and the fourth and final first-round bye. The release of the first-of-its-kind 12-team bracket marks a new era for college football, though the Alabama-SMU debate made clear that there is no perfect formula for choosing a champion. The tournament starts Dec. 20-21 with four first-round games involving teams seeded 5-12. It concludes Jan. 20 with the national title game in Atlanta. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football