By Seth Tow, Editor-in-Chief
The final polls are in, and the four team bracket for the first ever College Football Playoff (CFP) is set. On New Years Day 2015, the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide will square off against the #4 Ohio State Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl, and the #2 Oregon Ducks will face the #3 (and reigning BCS champions) Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl, with the winners advancing to the CFP Championship Game on January 12th, 2015.
Of the four teams, Florida State is the only one to be ranked in the top four of the CFP rankings all season long. Alabama has held the top spot since Week 13 after their victory over the then-#1 Mississippi State Bulldogs. Much like the Seminoles, Oregon has been in the thick of things all season long. They started off #5 in the first week of the CFP rankings, and quickly moved into the top four and never looked back. Ohio State found themselves in the top four for the first time, but they got it when it mattered most. They were #16 in the first CFP rankings in week 10, and they were able to ascend to the #4 spot in the final week of the season with their 59-0 rout in the Big Ten Championship game over #13 Wisconsin.
The 13 member selection committee boasted a wide variety of backgrounds and personalities to pick the best four teams in the country, ranging from former quarterback Archie Manning, to USC athletic director Pat Haden, to former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
As expected, there was much controversy with the selections for multiple reasons. The two big snubs in the field were the TCU Horned Frogs and the Baylor Bears, who finished ranked #6 and #5, respectively. TCU was ranked #3 in week 15 heading into the final week of the season, in which they crushed lowly Iowa State 55-3. Baylor was ranked #6 in the final week of the season, in which they upended #9 Kansas State 38-27. Both schools felt that their performances in the final week of the regular season were worthy of the #4 ranking and the final spot in the College Football Playoff. Many felt that if they were higher-profile schools that they would have gotten in. The Bears will play in the Cotton Bowl on New Years Day against #8 Michigan State, and the Horned Frogs will play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on New Years Eve against #9 Ole Miss.
Also, although Florida State is in the playoff as the #3, many feel that they should be the #1 seed. The Seminoles are the only team in College Football to finish the season undefeated. Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State each have one loss (to at-the-time #9 Ole Miss, unranked Arizona, and unranked Virginia Tech, respectively). The Seminoles have not had any dominant victories, with only three victories with margins of 17 or more. They escaped many potential upsets, and never really looked like the National Championship team they were in 2013. But an undefeated season is solely based off wins and losses, and Florida State did not lose for the entire season. Many feel accomplishing that feat in a power conference is worthy of the top spot, but clearly the committee felt otherwise.
There has already been discussion of expanding the College Football Playoff in the future to eight teams. If this year’s bracket included eight teams, Baylor, TCU, Mississippi State, and Michigan State would have been given a shot at the National Championship.
Regardless of the controversy surrounding this year’s field, the mere presence of a playoff format in college football should be celebrated. You can catch all the bowl games on ESPN.
**Update – in the Rose Bowl, Oregon stomped the Seminoles 59-20 to advance to the title game. In the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State shocked Alabama and the nation with a 42-35 upset to advance. The National Championship Game will be played on Monday, January 12th.