BOWL STORIES: Finales, contrasts in style, coaching carousel

Even after a wild finish to championship Saturday, selection Sunday went pretty much as expected.

CFP committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said the committee spent “considerable time” on Saturday night and again Sunday morning debating Washington vs. Penn State at No. 4.

The Buckeyes are the first non-conference champion to make the playoff in the three years of the current system.

Forever a pro-style team, we’ve seen the evolution of Alabama’s offense under offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin the last couple seasons, incorporating more tempo and a mobile quarterback.

PEACH BOWL: It’s Alabama’s stingy defense versus Washington’s high-scoring offense in the Peach Bowl, one of the two College Football Playoff national semifinals this season. They have twice met on a neutral field, including the most recent meeting in El Paso, TX., in the 1986 Sun Bowl.

“I didn’t hold up that sign”, Petersen said, laughing. The Tide won the SEC Championship this year and is the defending playoff champion.

“That’s what’s so hard about it”, Washington coach Chris Petersen said.

Against the Gators, the defense scored on a pick six, and the special teams unit blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown.

— Boise State and Baylor meet December 27 at Cactus Bowl in Phoenix.

“I don’t think you can go past 15 games in college football”, said Swinney, whose did just that last season and lost to Alabama in the national championship game. Since 2014, however, it has used both the sponsor-less name that it used from its inception in 1968 to that first corporate partnership in 1997 and the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl official name it bore from 1997 to 2005.

And, if a head-to-head road loss at Penn State was so damning, then perhaps Pittsburgh, which beat Penn State and No. 3 Clemson, should be in the playoff.

As the old pro in the College Football Playoff, having made the national Final Four each of the first three seasons of its existence, Nick Saban made sure to extend a warm welcome to its newest addition.

The Huskies snagged their ticket with a convincing 41-10 win over number eight Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Friday. The Nittany Lions ended up fifth in the rankings.

Left out from the semifinals are Penn State and MI, finishing fifth and sixth in the rankings.

“I think everybody knows about Alabama and it’s not just one year, it’s every year, how dominant they are”, he said.

Towards the end of the regular season, selection weekend takes place, where the committee determines the playoff matchups.

Leonard Fournette will declare for the National Football League draft following LSU’s appearance in the Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Led by Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Year Jake Browning, the Huskies’ offense has smashed school records for points and touchdowns, and now ranks No. 4 in scoring offense in the nation.

– Which Southeastern Conference team will play in the Sugar Bowl against Oklahoma?