The selection committee revealed the pairings for second playoff Sunday, a day after the top teams eliminated any controversy about who should be in the final four.
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After the conference championship games on Saturday afternoon, there wasn’t much drama left as to which four teams would be competing in the College Football Playoff this season.
Joining Clemson, Florida State and North Carolina from the ACC will be Duke (New Era Pinstripe Bowl), Miami (Hyundai Sun Bowl), NC State (Belk Bowl), Louisville (Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl), Pitt (Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman) and Virginia Tech (Camping World Independence Bowl).
Committee chairman Jeff Long said that the Tigers were the clear-cut top team in the final rankings. The payoff: Only two teams in the country scored more points this year than the Sooners (45.8 points per game). Watson had thrown for 30 touchdowns and run for 11 more this season.
Georgia (9-3) will be seeking a second consecutive 10-win season.
Since the devastating September 19 loss at Bryant-Denny, Alabama’s defense has been nothing short of dominant. He is only 14 yards short of a 2,000 yard season.
“Last year was last year”, Oklahoma wide receiver Sterling Shepard told ESPN on its selection show.
QUARTERBACK STARS: That Russell Athletic Bowl matchup last season was played without both Clemson’s Deshaun Watson (injured) and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (sitting out to satisfy transfer rules) on the field. The Rose Bowl, which matches the champions of the Pac-12 and Big Ten, has its choice of another team from one of those conferences if that conference’s champion plays in a national semifinal game.
Alabama and Michigan State have been to the Cotton Bowl before, and not too long ago. “All four of these teams were very close”. The Tigers’ late-season victories over Syracuse, archrival SC and ACC championship foe North Carolina looked the same.
A win over Alabama, though, would be the most satisfying yet for Michigan State’s fans, because it’s an opportunity to exact some revenge on Saban-the former Spartans’ coach who ditched East Lansing on his road to four national championships. Enjoyable or not, it did ultimately secure Sparty a spot in the CFB Playoff. However, the Sooners made an early statement with a comeback win against the Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville.
Clemson’s talented defensive line and improving offensive line will test the Sooners’ toughness the way Texas did. The Tigers haven’t budged from the No. 1 spot since they were elevated there following a November win over Florida State.
Oklahoma’s dynamic offense is perhaps the biggest reason for their success. Clemson is at exactly 500, putting the Tigers at 38.5 points per game.
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The first such try came also in Orlando, in the 2011 Capital One Bowl, when Alabama mauled Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins in a 49-7 win, which raised the then-defending champion Crimson Tide to an allegedly disappointing 10-3 record.
