The College Football Playoff committee solidified its final rankings this afternoon, naming the four playoff seeds in the process and sending certain fan bases into a state of frenzied excitement.
After Clemson, Oklahoma and Georgia won their respective conference championship games yesterday (December 2nd), the committee has penciled in the University of Alabama into that fourth and final semi-final spot, narrowly beating out the Ohio State Buckeyes, who slide down to No. 5.
According to ESPN, No. 1 Clemson will face No. 4 Alabama in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, while the No. 2 Sooners will play the No. 3 Bulldogs in the Rose Bowl. Both contests go down on January 1st, as was announced by the CFP selection committee. Georgia has had the longest playoff drought of the bunch and is chasing the school's first national title since 1980. Clemson won the playoff recently, in 2016, while Alabama last won in 2015. Oklahoma last tasted playoff victory in 2000.
The semifinal winners will play for the national title on Jan. 8 in Atlanta.
Alabama (11-1) made through to the playoffs despite not playing in a game on Saturday and, as a result, not winning the SEC title. Their 26-14 loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl on November 25th had put the Crimson Tide's playoff hopes in at least a little bit of jeopardy. Meanwhile, the Ohio State Buckeyes (11-2) defeated Wisconsin 27-21 in the Big Ten championship game, but failed to make it into the CFB playoff, based on the committee's decision-making. Their 31-point loss to unranked Iowa proved to be the insurmountable blemish on their record this year.