The Hoosiers came in at No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, but they slid down two spots because the four highest-ranked conference champions received automatic first-round byes. Those teams include Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State.

“In-state battle. [Curt] Cignetti wanted a home game. I don’t think he had much of a case for a home game,” ESPN’s Rece Davis said on the selection show. “But he doesn’t have to travel too far as the Hoosiers – what a remarkable season – they go to take on the Irish.” You want to talk about two different teams, Indiana and Notre Dame,” ESPN’s Joey Galloway said Notre Dame with their run game, Riley Leonard, also their run game, [Jeremiyah] Love, their running back, going against an Indiana team that is – when you look at them, they want to throw the ball, they want to go through the air, very good defense, but can it hold up against the run of Notre Dame?” The winner of Indiana’s first-round game will advance to face No. 2 seed Georgia, which won the SEC championship 22-19 in overtime Saturday against Texas. That game would be played on Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La.

Indiana enters the playoffs with an 11-1 overall record and an 8-1 run in Big Ten play in its first season under coach Curt Cignetti, the most wins in program history. The Hoosiers lead the FBS in average scoring margin at 28.7, while ranking second nationally in total defense (244.8) and 24th in total offense (438.8). Indiana ranks 10th overall in ESPN’s College Football Power Index (FPI), eighth in strength of record, 68th in strength of schedule, seventh in game control and first in average in-game win probability. The Hoosiers stayed put at No. 9 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 poll, though they were jumped by Mountain West Conference champion Boise State. Indiana has been ranked within the top 10 for six straight weeks, peaking at No. 5 twice.  Here’s how the playoff bracket is formed:

The five highest-rated conference champions make the field. Four of them will receive byes to the quarterfinals as the top four seeds. The fifth champion gets the No. 12 seed if they are outside the top 12 in the rankings. The other seven teams are at-large selections from across FBS. They are slotted in the No. 5-No. 11 seed range.

The eight teams that don’t receive byes play the first round on campus sites. The No. 5-8 seeds will host those games.