Editor’s note: This article was originally published by USA TODAY Sports and has been republished in its entirety below.
Members of the College Football Playoff selection committee already have descended on Grapevine, Texas, and after deliberating into Monday evening will reconvene Tuesday to complete the debut rankings for the 2020 season.
Even as Zoom calls and remote interviews have become the standard in college football, the committee is scheduled to meet in person each week through Dec. 20, when the group will reveal the makeup of the national semifinals and New Year’s Six bowls.
If the routine feels normal, the deliberations will be anything but. Never in the history of the postseason format has the committee needed to take so many factors into account, including the widespread elimination of non-conference play and the variety in games played across every Power Five league.
It’s lent the proceedings an air of uncertainty and unpredictability. (It is 2020, after all.) Several questions loom as the committee sets the tone for the rest of the regular season.