COLLEGE

A look at the latest College Football Playoff rankings and bowl destination for Iowa and Iowa State

Des Moines Register

Welcome to Selection Sunday, college football edition.

Today, we discovered the College Football Playoff committee's final top-25 ranking and, most importantly, how it ranked the top four of (in no particular order) Alabama, Cincinnati, Michigan and Georgia.

We also found out the bowl game matchups, including those for Iowa, which ended its season at 10-3 after a 42-3 loss to Michigan in the Big Ten title game, and Iowa State, which ended a season with lofty expectations at 7-5.

Here are the highlights from Sunday.

Read more on Iowa football and Iowa State's bowl games

2:39 p.m. Iowa confirms its ticket to the Citrus Bowl

There's just something about Iowa and playing its bowl games in Florida.

1:59 p.m. Here's the final CFP top 25

25. Texas A&M

24. San Diego State

23. Louisiana

22. Kentucky

21. Arkansas

20. Houston

19. Clemson

18. North Carolina State

17. Wake Forest

16. Oklahoma

15. Iowa

14. Oregon

13. BYU

12. Pitt

11. Utah

10. Michigan State

9. Oklahoma State

8. Ole Miss

7. Baylor

6. Ohio State

5. Notre Dame

4. Cincinnati

3. Georgia

2. Michigan

1. Alabama

1:53 p.m. It's Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl

According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, Iowa State will play Clemson in the Cheez-It Bowl. There's no kick time yet, but that'll be on Dec. 29. So both the Cyclones and Hawkeyes are playing their bowl games in Orlando, Florida, just a few days apart.

1:47 p.m. Iowa finishes No. 15 in the CFP top 25

The Hawkeyes are sandwiched between Oregon at No. 14 and Oklahoma at No. 16. Their Citrus Bowl opponent, Kentucky, is No. 22.

1:46 p.m. It's Iowa in the Citrus Bowl

Per Action Network's Brett McMurphy, Iowa will play Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl. There's no kick time yet, but that'll be on New Year's Day.

1:41 p.m. Here's all the New Year's Six bowl game info you could need

Peach Bowl: No. 10 Michigan State vs. No. 12 Pitt, Dec. 30, 6 p.m. CT, ESPN

-This is Pitt's first BCS/New Year's Six bowl game since 2004

Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State, Jan. 1, 12 p.m. CT, ESPN

-Notre Dame is 0-7 in BCS/NY6 bowl games since 1998 and has lost by an average of 23 points per game

Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Utah, Jan. 1, 4 p.m. CT, ESPN

-This is Utah's ninth BCS/NY6 bowl game appearance, and it's won the past two

Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Baylor vs. No. 8 Ole Miss, Jan. 1, 7:45 p.m. CT, ESPN

-Ole Miss has won six of its past seven appearances in the Sugar Bowl

1:14 p.m. See you at 1:30

ESPN will reveal the rest of the top 25 and start announcing bowl game matchups at 1:30 p.m. Central Time. See you then.

12:47 p.m. Don't mind me just checking my watch ...

... and twiddling my thumbs over here waiting for what everybody cares about now: the rest of the final top 25 and some more bowl game matchups. We thinking maybe 1 p.m. Central Time for that? Later?

12:33 p.m. Game start times are out

Things will start out with Alabama vs. Cincinnati in the Cotton Bowl Classic at 2:30 p.m. Central Time, and then it'll be Michigan vs. Georgia in the Orange Bowl at 6:30 p.m. CT.

12:23 p.m. The lines are out

According to the ESPN broadcast, the opening line for Alabama vs. Cincinnati is the Crimson Tide by 13.5 points. And the opening line for Michigan vs. Georgia is the Bulldogs by 7.5 points. You'd better believe lots of folks will be betting on Jim Harbaugh's bunch with that line.

12:12 p.m. Chatting with Luke Fickell

Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell said he thinks his guys are excited for the opportunity to try to represent the Group of Five and dethrone Alabama.

"We know it's going to be an incredible challenge for us," he said. "Our guys have done nothing but step up to challenges."

Fickell also addressed how he and his team have been able to remain focused on the task at hand despite Fickell's name being tied to various head coaching vacancies in recent weeks.

"This year I think was a little bit different," Fickell said, acknowledging this year's noise may have been louder than in recent years. "If it wasn't for those (seniors and team leaders) and their ability to control the locker room, I think it would have been a lot more difficult."

12:02 p.m. Updates from Nick Saban

The biggest update from Alabama head coach Nick Saban is that star receiver John Metchie III, who went down with a non-contact injury in the SEC title game, likely has a "pretty significant knee injury" and will be out for a while, obviously including the CFP semifinal against Cincinnati.

Regarding Bearcats, Saban said Cincinnati "deserves to be in" and that his program respects Luke Fickell's program and is taking it seriously.

"We have to have proper respect," Saban said.

11:57 a.m. Kirby Smart thinks the SEC title game loss can help

In his interview with ESPN, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said "the greatest learning experiences come after losses" and went on to say he thinks his players are poised to learn and improve a great deal before the CFP semifinal against Michigan.

"Our guys are like sponges right now," Smart said.

11:49 a.m. Consider Jim Harbaugh a Georgia fan

In case you didn't know, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh's brother-in-law is Georgia men's basketball head coach Tom Crean.

"In our household, we find ourselves rooting for Georgia basketball," Harbaugh said on Sunday's ESPN broadcast, "and that always goes over to Georgia football."

Harbaugh didn't give a full scouting report of Georgia, but he was quick to praise the Bulldogs and say the game will be a tough battle when asked about his upcoming CFP semifinal opponent.

"They're great. They're a great team," Michigan's head coach said.

11:44 a.m. Let's talk about matchups

Selfishly, I'm most excited about No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Cincinnati. As a San Diego State alum, I'm a Group of Five guy. (I'm also heartbroken after the Aztecs' abysmal Mountain West title game performance but I digress.)

Who better for the G5 darling Bearcats to prove their worth against than Nick Saban and the power of all powerhouses in Alabama?

Then you've got a mouth-watering battle for conference supremacy between Michigan, the Big Ten's best, and Georgia, who was the SEC's best during the regular season. Big Ten country will swear Michigan is better, and SEC country would laugh at the notion the Bulldogs aren't the superior team.

Michigan also no doubt thought it should be No. 1. This is an opportunity for the Wolverines to try to prove that against a team Alabama just blew out.

11:36 a.m. Gary Barta said Alabama was clear No. 1 and Cincinnati was clear No. 4

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta, the head of the CFP committee, said on ESPN that Alabama beating Georgia in such dominant fashion, added to its wins over Ole Miss and Arkansas, gave the Crimson Tide the edge for No. 1. "The complete victory over Georgia," Barta said, gave Alabama the top spot.

Barta said that the committee does not factor in potential semifinal matchups when deciding the final order of the top four. So, if you believe that, the committee did not try to prevent an Alabama-Georgia rematch in the semifinal.

Cincinnati was the clear No. 4 team, Barta said. Beating Notre Dame at Notre Dame was a big help. It was a "strong consensus," Barta said, that Cincinnati was No. 4.

11:29 a.m. It's Cincinnati, Georgia, Michigan and Alabama. Duh.

Ohio State is at No. 6 and Notre Dame is at No. 5. So that means Baylor didn't jump any higher than No. 7 after beating Oklahoma State to win the Big 12 title as the No. 9 team. Interesting. I thought they might give the Bears some love, especially seeing how Oregon, which beat Ohio State earlier this year, has turned into a train wreck.

Cincinnati is No. 4. For the first time in CFP history, a Group of Five team will play in the semifinals. Love to see it.

Georgia comes in at No. 3. No surprise there after the Bearcats were slotted fourth.

Alabama got No. 1 and Michigan got No. 2. I would rather see the Wolverines at No. 1 but that's me. I'm happy the committee at least kept us from watching another Georgia-Alabama matchup in the semifinals.

It'll be Alabama vs. Cincinnati Dec. 31 in the Cotton Bowl Classic and Michigan vs. Georgia Dec. 31 in the Orange Bowl. Fun stuff, friends.

11:17 a.m. Final prediction

OK, I think they're unveiling the top 25 after the break. So, consider this my final prediction. Hold me to this.

1. Michigan

2. Alabama

3. Cincinnati

4. Georgia

Call me crazy, but I think the committee is going to reward Michigan for its schedule and the brutal shellacking it gave Iowa.

Also: Iowa State vs. Clemson in Cheez-It Bowl, and Iowa vs. Kentucky (Stoops connection!) in the Citrus Bowl. Let's see.

11:07 a.m. How long will it take?

Over/under on when ESPN will actually get to announcing the top 25?

I'll put it at 11:20 a.m. So, before or after?

There's only one question with the top four

We pretty much know with 99.9% certainty that Michigan, Cincinnati, Alabama and Georgia will be the top four teams ... unless the CFP committee wants to watch the world burn and decides to throw Big 12 champ Baylor in there somewhere and lets the high-octane chaos ensue.

But, again, 99.9% certainty.

The only uncertainty is the order of those top four.

Who gets No. 1? That comes down to Michigan and Alabama. The Wolverines have more strong wins, including two consecutive blowouts against Ohio State and Iowa to end their season. Alabama might have the best win of all with its blowout over Georgia in the SEC title game, although the Crimson Tide struggled a bit down the stretch of the regular season.

No matter who gets No. 1, the CFP committee will likely make it so we don't see a Alabama-Georgia rematch in the semifinals. So, does that mean: 1. Alabama, 2. Michigan, 3. Georgia, 4. Cincinnati? Or 1. Michigan, 2. Alabama, 3. Cincinnati, 4. Georgia? Again, that's really the only question with the top four.

Where are Iowa and Iowa State most likely to wind up?

This is the way USA TODAY Sports sees things shaking out today:

We've got Iowa pegged for Citrus Bowl against Arkansas. That feels pretty certain, as there's little doubt in anyone's mind that the Rose Bowl will take Ohio State. As for the Hawkeyes' opponent, that'll come down to Arkansas, Kentucky or Texas A&M, and the Citrus Bowl CEO recently said you "can't lose" with any of those three.

Iowa State's bowl destiny is also pretty clear. With Baylor in the Sugar Bowl and Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl, we've got the Cyclones slated for the Cheez-It Bowl against Clemson in a fun head coaching clash between Matt Campbell and Dabo Swinney. Oklahoma will get the Alamo Bowl, the Big 12's top non-New Year's Six game, and Iowa State holds the tiebreaker over Kansas State, which will more than likely send the Wildcats to the Texas Bowl or Liberty Bowl and give Iowa State the Cheez-It.

Any question marks entering today?

Among the bigger bowl games, one intriguing question is: Who the heck gets the Citrus Bowl and Outback Bowl? From the Big Ten perspective, one part of that answer is easy: Iowa gets the Citrus. But the Outback? That could be Wisconsin or Minnesota.

As for the SEC, Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M are vying for those two spots, with the odd team out likely going to the Mayo Bowl or Gator Bowl.

There's also a question in the New Year's Six bowls: Who goes to the Peach Bowl and who goes to the Fiesta Bowl? Pitt is definitely going to the Peach and Oklahoma State is definitely going to the Fiesta. Then it comes down to Notre Dame and Michigan State for their opponents. We've got Michigan State eating corn chips and Notre Dame eating peaches, but we'll see.

Matthew Bain is the deputy sports editor for the Des Moines Register. He still covers some recruiting, too. Contact him at mbain@dmreg.com and follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.