Championship weekend delivered a blockbuster befitting of the first 12-team College Football Playoff.

In Atlanta, it took overtime, but Georgia, even after two regular-season losses, claimed the SEC by beating Texas and stealing an all-important first-round bye from the Longhorns, who will still host a quarterfinal against 12-seed Clemson.

Top-ranked Oregon and Penn State engaged in an offensive shootout in Indianapolis. But despite a late effort from the Nittany Lions, the Ducks proved once again why they are both still undefeated and ranked atop the college football world. Dan Lanning’s 13-0 team doesn’t just get a first-round bye — they’ll be playing in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1.

In the land of underdogs and surprises, Arizona State and Boise State made loud statements in their respective Big 12 and Mountain West championship games, earning improbable — but well-deserved — first-round byes. Who would have seen that coming four months ago? Not the Big 12 media, which predicted the Sun Devils to finish last in the conference.

And finally, in Charlotte, Dabo Swinney and Clemson (with an assist from Syracuse last week) resurrected their once-lost season and found themselves with another conference championship and a spot in the playoff by beating SMU on a last-second field goal. The Mustangs had to sweat it out overnight, but in the end, they — not Alabama, not Ole Miss, not South Carolina and not Miami — found themselves in the playoff field as well. Their reward? A trip to Happy Valley to face No. 6 Penn State.

After months of rankings, seedings and countless debates, we have a 12-team bracket that brings about plenty of enticing questions and intriguing possibilities.

Can Oregon run the table and go 16-0 and finally get the coveted national championship the program craves? Will Georgia once again show itself to be the sport’s flagship program a year after missing out on the playoff? How far will the Cinderella runs of Boise State and Arizona State go? Is a sleeping giant such as Notre Dame, Ohio State or Tennessee better positioned for a run after not having to play in a conference championship? Or will the new format bring about more chaos and produce a double-digit-seed semifinalist, maybe even a familiar winner like Clemson?

Here are our full picks for the inaugural, 12-team College Football Playoff.

Andrea Adelson

First round

Texas 28, Clemson 14
Ohio State 27, Tennessee 24
Penn State 24, SMU 23
Notre Dame 38, Indiana 17

Quarterfinals

Texas 33, Arizona State 30
Oregon 35, Ohio State 31
Penn State 38, Boise State 35
Notre Dame 23, Georgia 20

Semifinals

Texas 31, Oregon 30
Notre Dame 27, Penn State 24

National title game

Texas 31, Notre Dame 27

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Kyle Bonagura

First round

Texas 31, Clemson 21
Ohio State 28, Tennessee 24
Penn State 31, SMU 17
Indiana 31, Notre Dame 24

Quarterfinals

Oregon 35, Ohio State 28
Arizona State 31, Texas 28
Penn State 38, Boise State 24
Georgia 42, Indiana 38

Semifinals

Oregon 42, Arizona State 31
Georgia 28, Penn State 24

National title game

Oregon 31, Georgia 24

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Bill Connelly

First round

Texas 35, Clemson 16
Ohio State 17, Tennessee 10
Penn State 31, SMU 20
Notre Dame 24, Indiana 23

Quarterfinals

Oregon 28, Ohio State 21
Texas 31, Arizona State 17
Penn State 24, Boise State 20
Notre Dame 20, Georgia 16

Semifinals

Oregon 35, Texas 31
Notre Dame 23, Penn State 21

National title game

Oregon 28, Notre Dame 27

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David Hale

First round

Texas 45, Clemson 27
Ohio State 28, Tennessee 27
SMU 30, Penn State 28
Notre Dame 42, Indiana 10

Quarterfinals

Texas 34, Arizona State 21
Ohio State 32, Oregon 31
SMU 36, Boise State 33
Notre Dame 21, Georgia 20

Semifinals

Ohio State 27, Texas 24
Notre Dame 35, SMU 28

National title game

Ohio State 27, Notre Dame 24

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Eli Lederman

First round

Texas 41, Clemson 31
Ohio State 24, Tennessee 20
Penn State 31, SMU 28
Notre Dame 34, Indiana 17

Quarterfinals

Texas 30, Arizona State 13
Oregon 35, Ohio State 34
Boise State 28, Penn State 20
Notre Dame 24, Georgia 16

Semifinals

Oregon 24, Texas 20
Notre Dame 27, Boise State 17

National title game

Oregon 27, Notre Dame 24

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Chris Low

First round

Texas 31, Clemson 14
Ohio State 27, Tennessee 24
Penn State 35, SMU 21
Notre Dame 24, Indiana 20

Quarterfinals

Texas 34, Arizona State 24
Ohio State 30, Oregon 28
Boise State 28, Penn State 27
Georgia 24, Notre Dame 21

Semifinals

Ohio State 31, Texas 30
Georgia 34, Boise State 21

National title game

Georgia 28, Ohio State 23

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Max Olson

First round

Texas 31, Clemson 20
Ohio State 17, Tennessee 14
Penn State 41, SMU 35
Indiana 24, Notre Dame 21

Quarterfinals

Texas 27, Arizona State 17
Oregon 35, Ohio State 13
Penn State 31, Boise State 21
Georgia 27, Indiana 10

Semifinals

Oregon 37, Texas 31
Georgia 20, Penn State 17

National title game

Oregon 34, Georgia 27

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Adam Rittenberg

First round

Texas 24, Clemson 16
Ohio State 26, Tennessee 19
Penn State 34, SMU 23
Notre Dame 31, Indiana 21

Quarterfinals

Texas 33, Arizona State 20
Oregon 38, Ohio State 35
Penn State 35, Boise State 31
Notre Dame 19, Georgia 17

Semifinals

Oregon 31, Texas 21
Notre Dame 27, Penn State 26

National title game

Oregon 38, Notre Dame 27

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Mark Schlabach

First round

Texas 24, Clemson 20
Ohio State 28, Tennessee 17
Penn State 34, SMU 24
Notre Dame 35, Indiana 21

Quarterfinals

Arizona State 24, Texas 21
Oregon 38, Ohio State 31
Penn State 27, Boise State 24
Georgia 24, Notre Dame 21

Semifinals

Oregon 38, Arizona State 27
Georgia 27, Penn State 21

National title game

Oregon 24, Georgia 20

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Jake Trotter

First round

Texas 24, Clemson 12
Tennessee 21, Ohio State 20
Penn State 27, SMU 19
Notre Dame 31, Indiana 23

Quarterfinals

Arizona State 27, Texas 23
Oregon 35, Tennessee 28
Boise State 28, Penn State 27
Notre Dame 16, Georgia 14

Semifinals

Oregon 44, Arizona State 38
Notre Dame 20, Boise State 14

National title game

Oregon 30, Notre Dame 27

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Paolo Uggetti

First round

Texas 27, Clemson 14
Tennessee 27, Ohio State 24
Penn State 34, SMU 20
Notre Dame 28, Indiana 17

Quarterfinals

Arizona State 27, Texas 24
Oregon 34, Tennessee 21
Penn State 31, Boise State 27
Notre Dame 21, Georgia 17

Semifinals

Oregon 38, Arizona State 27
Notre Dame 24, Penn State 20

National title game

Oregon 31, Notre Dame 20

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Dave Wilson

First round

Texas 27, Clemson 17
Tennessee 34, Ohio State 31
Penn State 37, SMU 30
Notre Dame 24, Indiana 21

Quarterfinals

Texas 34, Arizona State 27
Oregon 30, Tennessee 24
Penn State 41, Boise State 24
Georgia 38, Notre Dame 27

Semifinals

Oregon 31, Texas 17
Georgia 28, Penn State 21

National title game

Oregon 28, Georgia 20

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Capitals and Wizards owner Ted Leonsis, NBA commissioner Adam Silver, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser and other officials celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation with a ceremonial sledgehammer swinging Thursday inside what will be a new atrium entryway.

The event unveiling renderings for what Capital One Arena should look like when it is fully transformed in time for the 2027-28 NHL and NBA seasons took place as questions swirled nearby on Capitol Hill about the city’s hopes of luring the NFL’s Commanders. A provision to transfer the land including RFK Stadium to the district was removed from Congress’ slimmed-down, short-term spending bill hours later, sending that team back to the drawing board.

In the Chinatown neighborhood, there were handshakes and smiles, as work to retain the Capitals and Wizards had also been ongoing for some time.

Keeping the teams was a significant victory for Bowser. They agreed last spring to remain in the city as part of a $515 million, publicly funded project, after a planned move across the Potomac River to Virginia proposed roughly a year ago fell apart in that state’s legislature.

“I’ve got to say, what a difference a year makes,” Ward 2 council member Brooke Pinto said. “Ted Leonsis, thank you so much for believing in this city. … Thank you for your dedication to our city.”

Leonsis called it a landmark day for the district and his company. His Monumental Sports and Entertainment will pay for the rest of the project, which area leaders hope will serve as a central hub of the nation’s capital between its many neighborhoods.

“When you see those signs, ‘Please excuse our dust,’ there’s going to be a lot of dust here,” Leonsis said. “This project is massive. It’ll probably take three seasons to do it, and it’s $800 million. It is a significant, significant program. But after you see what we’re going to do for the players, the fans and the city, it’ll be worth the wait.”

The work, which will take place in several stages from now through fall 2027, includes more than doubling the size of locker rooms while also adding suites and other amenities. The building initially opened in December 1997.

“This is nearly a billion-dollar investment for [players’] benefit and for the community’s benefit,” Silver said, alluding to future All-Star Games and other events that will take place. “The NBA and NHL will have less than half the dates at the end of the day because what’s happened now with these entertainment palaces — they are full, it seems, practically every night of the year.”

CHICAGO — Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek is feeling much better after a rough couple of weeks.

Mrazek was activated from injured reserve on Thursday, and goaltender Drew Commesso was assigned to the minors. Mrazek backed up Arvid Soderblom for Chicago’s 3-1 victory against Seattle.

The 32-year-old Mrazek departed a 4-2 loss to Winnipeg on Dec. 7 with a left groin injury. Then he started to come down with the flu the next day.

“It’s a relief that it wasn’t anything serious,” Mrazek said. “I felt like I was just being more careful with it. In the past you stay in the net and you get it worse. Dealing with that and then with the flu, everything in one, was the thing. Just get through it and get back on track.”

Mrazek is 7-11-1 with a 2.83 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 20 games. He has carried a heavy workload for Chicago over the past two seasons, but he said he didn’t think that contributed to the injury.

“I’ve been dealing with a couple of things personally as well, travel a lot between Chicago and different cities,” he said. “So I think just everything came together. I felt like maybe just the body said it was enough, needed a mental break as well and get back on track now.”

Mrazek did not offer any specifics on what he has been dealing with on the personal side.

Captain Nick Foligno said it was good to have the goaltender on the ice for the morning skate before the matchup with the Kraken.

“He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do here, and he’s a great goalie,” he said. “To see him feeling good and back out is really important for our group. He brings a lot of energy.”