College bowl teams, schedule announced

If the Tigers advance, they will face No. 1 Alabama or No. 4 Washington for the College Football Playoff National Championship at 8:30 p.m. on Monday, January 9, at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium (ESPN).

As it is, the victor will have vanquished one elite rival only to face another, whether a still-unbeaten Alabama team or a Washington squad fresh off a significant upset.

That Penn State is not one of those teams can – and nearly assuredly will – be debated for as long as there is Nittany Lions football. So far, the Nittany Lions have stated all the right things, so they should be ready to play. It’s the granddaddy of them all, as they say. Although Wisconsin is a different beast, Western Michigan did defeat two Big Ten teams along the way this season.

Let’s dispense with the pleasantries here: The CFP rewards tradition over performance. Just don’t repeat 2009, OK, Penn State?

Most postseason-bound college football teams and their fans will find out where they’re going bowling on Sunday. Ohio State led Penn State 21-7 before a blocked punt and blocked field goal returned for a touchdown provided the margin of difference in a 24-21 loss. That never would have happened to a school like Texas, Oklahoma or even Ohio State, for that matter. This is Jim Harbaugh’s first big-time bowl game as the head coach of his alma mater.

Coupled with their drive to enter a rare MI stratosphere as an 11-win team, becoming only the sixth modern U-M team do so, would leave a legacy.

The CFP committee had it relatively easy this year.

The Buckeyes have only lost once. But you can also say that if Penn State beat Pitt it would have benefited from playing a hard nonconference schedule. They are, after all, the best team in the nation’s best conference.

Out of the top 25: Florida and LSU. It won its conference. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes didn’t win the Big Ten title. He knows only one way to play this game, and that’s all out. The Wolverines will not be subjected to a possible humiliation like Michigan State suffered at the hands of Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide last season. However, the playoff could easily be expanded to include eight teams before the original contract expires. Why? A two-time national champion at Florida, he won another title with Ohio State after the 2014 season and the Buckeyes have won at least 11 games every season, including a ideal 12-0 record in 2012.

But this isn’t a team devoid of impressive wins.

The final spot came down to Penn State (11-2) and Pac-12 champion Washington. It beat ranked Utah.

The Minnesota Gophers have a chance to shut down the elite passing attack from the Washington State Cougars.

It played its schedule. We’d much rather do that and win the game than enjoy a vacation down in Florida. It won a Power 5 conference.

Cutting through all the numbers and all the discussion, the biggest reason the committee took Washington over Penn State was because it had only one loss and Penn State had two.

Going to the Rose Bowl is a great accomplishment considering where the Penn State program was a mere three years ago. A team that, like Penn State, hasn’t lost since September and has been coming into its own.

Led by dynamic quarterback Deshaun Watson, Clemson lost to Alabama in the national championship game last season in Arizona. But this is a young team, with nearly everybody returning next year.

However, the body of work was enough for Ohio State to be the only team not to win a conference championship and still make the College Football Playoff field. They developed quickly, breezing through the first month before a bumpy October that included the Penn State loss.