On Tuesday, millions of Americans will be glued to their tv’s, laptops, and tablets as the results come in for one of the most anticipated events of the year.

Of course, we’re talking about the first College Football Playoff rankings and backet projections.

Is there something else going on that night?

With all of the talk of conference realignment and anticipated top five matchups over the course of the early part of the season, this latest checkpoint is by far the most important.

In a wild and unpredictable season, with a playoff system that was a struggle to understand with four teams. Now, you add eight more into that equation.

It’s a very confusing mess that might be more confusing as the night (and time) goes on. See, it’s not-so different from that other thing happening on Tuesday night.

In the last week of games before the first rankings and bracket reveal, a few teams were off this past week (Alabama, LSU, Texas, Notre Dame) and some were in action (Georgia, Texas A&M, Oregon, Ohio State).

There were also a good number of games that will make a heavy impact on those first initial rankings, Ohio State traveling to Penn State being chief among them. However, a funny thing happened on the way to Tuesday night.

To the surprise of nobody, Ohio State beat Penn State, while Georgia and Oregon took care of business themselves. Meanwhile, Iowa State joined Penn State in teams getting knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten.

Pair that result with teams like Kansas State, Texas A&M and Clemson going down and now you’ve got massive cluster of one and two-loss teams.

Sitting atop that massive cluster is the Crimson Tide who have yet another season-defining game this weekend at LSU. A couple of weeks back, I wrote about how teams with a loss or two in the league will be subjected to elimination games on the way to the SEC title game. Next Stop: Nov. 9 in Baton Rouge, LA.

Before Saturday, what will the first top 12 teams look like in the CFP rankings?

Remember, the top four teams from each conference get a first-round bye, so seeding and pairing will be adjusted.

Top 4 seeds

• 1. Oregon (Big Ten)–Rose Bowl
• 2. Georgia (SEC)–Sugar Bowl
• 3. Miami (ACC)–Peach Bowl
• 4. BYU (Big 12)–Fiesta Bowl

Although Miami and BYU will most-likely rank lower than one-loss teams such as Notre Dame, Georgia, and Ohio State, they’re the current conference leaders who will have the first-round bye.

So, what will seeds 5-12 look like? Remember, the top group of five team will be in the No. 12 spot, if they‘re ranked outside the top 12. This week, Boise State is the G5 leader with Army and Navy not too far behind them. Here’s how the rest of the projected first round on-campus matchups look.

• No. 5 Ohio State vs. No. 12 Boise State (Columbus, OH)
• No. 6 Texas vs. No. 11 Alabama (Austin, TX)
• No. 7 Tennessee vs. No. 10 Penn State (State College, PA)
• No. 8 Notre Dame vs. No. 9 Indiana (South Bend, IN)

Teams who are on the outside looking in: LSU, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, SMU, Clemson, Army.

When Texas Tech beat Iowa State, and Louisville beat Clemson, the loudest cheers weren’t in Ames, IA or Clemson, SC but Tuscaloosa, AL.

Two-loss Alabama remains the only two-loss team in the playoff, at this point and saw the biggest bump in getting into the field, just barely.

While they‘re in, they’ll still need some help with teams like Indiana, Miami, Notre Dame, and others losing once or twice. The Tide will also need to help their own cause, and it starts Saturday night in Death Valley.

Andrew Hammond is the sports editor at AL.com. He can be reached at [email protected] or on X at @ahammaldc.