The biggest mystery heading into college football's championship game weekend involves the playoff prospects of Oklahoma and Ohio State.
The person who could hold both teams' fortunes in his hands is Texas coach Tom Herman.
The setup: Three of the four spots in the College Football Playoff appear set. The current CFP ranking has Alabama leading followed by Clemson, Notre Dame and Georgia with the Sooners and Buckeyes fifth and sixth.
The Irish are in the clubhouse with a 12-0 record and a near-lock for the bracket. The Crimson Tide is nearly a two-touchdown favorite over the Bulldogs in the SEC title game, and the Tigers are a bigger favorite over Pittsburgh for the ACC trophy.
If there are no surprises, Georgia likely would lose its top four spot, and one of teams directly behind the Bulldogs would complete the bracket. Oklahoma and Ohio State are favored in their title games over Texas and Northwestern.
So, here's the chaos scenario: If Georgia is out, and OU and Buckeyes win their games on Saturday and own identical records with similar resumes, who gets the final playoff spot?
Both would have a case. The Sooners, with the nation's most-productive offense, led by quarterback Kyler Murray, will have avenged its lone loss and defeated a higher-ranked team than the Buckeyes.
Ohio State is more balanced and steamrolling Michigan a week ago was more impressive than anything the Sooners have accomplished this season.
Here's how CFP committee chairman Rob Mullens broke it down after the rankings were released on Tuesday:
"Oklahoma's only loss is to a ranked Texas team on a neutral field," Mullens said. "Impressive wins against a ranked West Virginia, a ranked Iowa State. Historic offense. We understand the defensive struggles.
"Ohio State, impressive win over Michigan. Certainly their most complete game. Quality road win over Penn State. Loss to Purdue. Somewhat inconsistent in the second half of the year."
Herman can make this easy. If Texas can beat Oklahoma for a second time this season it could open the door for Ohio State, where Herman served as an offensive coordinator for the Buckeyes' 2014 CFP championship team.
The Longhorns can't reach the playoff from their No. 14 ranking but they can spoil Oklahoma's quest, as if this rivalry needs more intensity. Because it's OU-Texas, the lead-up and tension is better than anything the other conference championships can provide.
Like Texas enlisting former Kansas coach David Beaty to provide intel this week. That didn't thrill the Sooners.
"I don't like the precedent of it, of being able to bring in somebody from the league in the same year," Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said. "I don't think it's good for the conference."
There was the icy meeting between quarterback Murray and Texas' Sam Ehlinger after the regular-season encounter when Ehlinger reportedly said, "have some respect."
Nobody seems to like the Big 12's announcement that a "Horns down" gesture by an opposing player could result in a taunting penalty. Maybe a sideways Horns is the way to go here.
Herman, who can give Texas its first conference championship since 2009, said earlier this week that the Longhorns are "probably playing above their talent level," which seems preposterous given the lofty annual ranking of Texas recruiting classes.
But Herman, in his second year, has moved the Longhorns closer to the results expected by the fan base. Texas is moving in the right direction, and the rivalry, which often served as a de facto national semifinal game in the 2000s, has regained its national relevance.
