To fix its Ole Miss problem, Alabama got some help from Arkansas, which need a stunning bounce-pass lateral play to beat the Rebels in overtime and clear a path for the Tide to win the SEC.
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SMART FINALE: Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart is expected to remain with the Crimson Tide throughout the College Football Playoff after being named coach of Georgia, his alma mater. The Sooners did not play a conference title game after being declared the regular-season Big 12 champion. The season was capped with a 45-37 win against North Carolina in the ACC title game.
Michigan State’s Darian Hicks wears the champions hat after Michigan State defeated Iowa 16-13 to win the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, early Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Indianapolis.
Oklahoma: 19th appearance in Orange Bowl (20th appearance in game hosted by the Orange Bowl), 17th straight year in a bowl game.
And, the College Football Playoff committee did just that, setting up a meeting with No. 2 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl in a national semifinal game.
The winners of the two semifinals will meet January 11 in the College Football Playoff National Championship presented by AT&T, held at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
“I don’t think any of it is about getting teams back”, Oklahoma cornerback Zack Sanchez said, when asked about the rematch with Clemson.
Alabama, which won its second consecutive SEC championship Saturday against Florida, finished No. 2 in the committee’s final rankings. The Spartans’ four-game bowl winning streak matches the longest in Big Ten history, and is the longest active streak in the FBS.
This year, Oklahoma was so sure of its spot that coach Bob Stoops and quarterback Baker Mayfield did not even attend the Sooners watch party in Norman. Iowa drops two spots to sixth after its first loss.
Left out according to many were Ohio State and Stanford, but Long was not comfortable saying they were “close” to being in that treasured top four.
The Crimson Tide is the only team that also played in the first four-team playoff last season.
In addition to the new College Football Playoffs gear, Fanatics and FansEdge have thousands of other Oklahoma items, including jerseys, shirts, hoodies and hats for men, women and children. The biggest could come from the Big Ten championship game, where Michigan State handed Iowa its first loss of the year.
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They moved up from No. 5 after beating then-No. Alabama won six games against AP Top 25 teams this season, the most by anyone.
