Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
The College Football Playoff is set, but not everyone is happy
The College Football Playoff matchups are set.
Now we get a month to yell about the decisions.
The College Football Playoff selection committee released their rankings on Sunday, setting up the two national semifinal games. As many expected, the top two teams were Michigan and Washington. The Huskies booked their spot in the playoff on Friday night, winning the final Pac-12 Championship Game by defeating Oregon for the second time this season. That left Washington with an unblemished 13-0 record.
However, that was only good enough for second in the final rankings. The committee gave the top spot to Michigan, thanks to their undefeated 13-0 record and a win in the Big Ten Championship Game, where the Wolverines shut out Iowa on Saturday night.
Those were the easy decisions. The final two spots, however, were much tougher. Four teams — Texas, Alabama, Florida State, and Georgia — could lay claim to one of the last two spots in the Playoff. The case for Texas? A 12-1 record, a win in the Big-12 Championship Game, and perhaps the biggest regular-season win of the year, on the road against Alabama.
For Florida State, they overcame the late-season injury to starting quarterback Jordan Travis to finish undefeated, from a Power 5 conference, and as ACC Champions thanks to their win over Louisville on Saturday night, when they were down to their third-string quarterback.
As for Alabama, they rebounded from that early-season loss to the Longhorns to advance to the SEC Championship Game, where they knocked off the number one team in the country.
That team? The Georgia Bulldogs, who had perhaps the weakest case of those four.
The committee agreed with that last point, ranking Georgia sixth. Texas, thanks in large part to that win over Alabama, came in at the third spot, and they’ll square off against Washington in the Sugar Bowl. You can imagine that the Texas faithful will have the Caesars Superdome filled when that game kicks off.
As for who Michigan will face in the Rose Bowl? That honor went to Alabama.
Leaving Florida State, an unbeaten Power 5 team, on the outside looking in.
Here are the Playoff matchups, as well as the final top six in the rankings. Bet on the CFP matchups at DraftKings Sportsbook:
College Football Playoff schedule for Michigan vs. Alabama, Washington vs. Texas
CFP Semifinal at the Rose Bowl Game
Michigan (13-0) v. Alabama (12-1) – 5:00 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
CFP Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl
Washington (13-0) v. Texas (12-1) – 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App
Rankings
1. Michigan (13-0)
2. Washington (13-0)
3. Texas (12-1)
4. Alabama (12-1)
5. Florida State (13-0)
6. Georgia (12-1)
