With games on tap all day Saturday and the list of possible College Football Playoff contenders well pared down, it is much more clear how things could potentially shake out over the course of the day -- certainly more clear cut than last season when there were paths for nine teams to potentially make the field with conference championship week remaining.

You will note that UCF is not listed among the six teams below. There simply is not a scenario in which the Knights are any higher than No. 5 in the final CFP Rankings, and even that is probably generous. Last year, UCF was ranked behind every major conference team with fewer than three losses. That may not be true this year, but it will not be ahead of every two-loss team, and that is what would have to happen for the Knights to get into the four-team field.

Here is a ranking of the remaining CFP contenders based on how likely they are to earn a spot in the playoff -- along with what each team needs to do in order to get into the field. 

1
Alabama
Clinched. Even with a loss to Georgia in the SEC Championship Game, Alabama would still be no worse than No. 4 in the final CFP Rankings.
2
Notre Dame
Clinched. The Irish finished an undefeated regular season with a win at USC on Saturday night. Clemson will be ranked higher if it wins its final game, but based on likelihood, Notre Dame is already in the field.
3
Clemson
All but clinched. A loss to 7-5 Pittsburgh would put an otherwise great season in some jeopardy, but the Tigers would still be a one-loss Power Five team.
4
Oklahoma
The Sooners are pretty much in the same spot as Ohio State. Oklahoma should run up the score on Texas if it can. The Sooners also need the Dawgs to lose, and it would not hurt if the Buckeyes did, too.
5
Ohio St.
The Buckeyes should start by beating Northwestern by as many points as they possibly can.  A loss by Georgia is required, and a loss by Oklahoma probably will be, too.
6
Georgia
Beat Alabama and the Bulldogs are back in the playoffs. That's not asking much. If they lose and Ohio State and Oklahoma fall, too, Georgia would become the first two-loss team to get a playoff berth. But a win by either the Buckeyes or Sooners coupled with a Dawgs loss would spell doom for UGA.

In addition to this list of playoff contenders, I have released my penultimate bowl projections for the 2018-19 season. Reminder: These projections are not how things stand now but rather how I expect them to look following the conference championship games.