Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington were selected for the College Football Playoff this year, with Big Ten champion Penn State missing the cut as the nation's fifth-ranked team in the CFP rankings released Sunday. Michigan was ranked No. 6.
The CFP Semifinals will be held New Year's Eve in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, pitting No. 1-seeded Alabama vs. No. 4-seeded Washington, and the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, featuring No. 2-seed Clemson and third-seeded Ohio State. The CFP title game is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 9 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
The team left out of the picture was Penn State, which won the Big Ten title on Saturday, but lost twice this season.
"We looked at one-loss Washington, that loss coming against a top-10 opponent (USC), compared to a two-loss Penn State team," said Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, who chairs the selection committee. "One loss, (Penn State was) not competitive in that particular game (49-10 loss to Michigan), the other loss, to an 8-4 team (Pitt). Obviously, strength of scheduled favored Penn State. Had Washington had a stronger strength of schedule, I don't think the conversation would have been as difficult."
As the SEC champion and the only undefeated Power Five conference team, Alabama was the prohibitive choice for the No. 1 seed. The Crimson Tide (13-0) won all but one of its games by a double-digit margin. UA will lean on an experienced and dominating defense in the playoff featuring a slew of 2017 draft prospects, including seniors Jonathan Allen, Reuben Foster, Tim Williams and Ryan Anderson.
Ohio State becomes the first team in the CFP's three-year history to receive a berth without winning a conference championship. The Buckeyes went 11-1 on the regular season, but OSU's loss to Penn State allowed for the Nittany Lions to reach the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin. Top prospects for Ohio State include junior LB Raekwon McMillan, C Pat Elflein and S Malik Hooker, though Hooker has already announced he intends to stay at Ohio State for at least another season.
Clemson returns to the CFP for the second year in a row with a high-powered offense led by Heisman Trophy candidate Deshaun Watson at quarterback, and the Tigers defense has reloaded impressively this year after losing four of the first 57 picks of the 2016 NFL Draft. Four Tigers on offense -- Watson, WRs Mike Williams and Artavis Scott, and RB Wayne Gallman -- intend to apply for early draft eligibility. CU coach Dabo Swinney expects Williams, in fact, to be the first receiver drafted in 2017.
Washington (12-1) will bring a dynamic trio of offensive skill players to the playoff in QB Jake Browning, WR John Ross III and RB Myles Gaskin. After a knee injury sidelined Ross last season, he has been one of college football's best comeback stories in catching 16 TD passes along with being a prolific kickoff returner. It's in the secondary where Washington has the most pro talent, led by CB Sidney Jones.
The entire order of the College Football Playoff selection committee rankings:
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