College Football Playoff Schedule, TV Broadcast Info

It had Clemson (13-0) as “a clear-cut number one” over Alabama (12-1), as committee chairman Jeff Long put it. It had Michigan State (12-1) nudging past Oklahoma (11-1) into No. 3 on the strength of two wins over fellow top-10 sorts who would have gone unbeaten otherwise.

2-seeded Alabama will make its second straight College Football Playoff appearance. Alabama beat Florida on Saturday while Michigan State edged Iowa.

The Clemson-Oklahoma semifinal matches teams that met last season in the much-lower-profile Russell Athletic Bowl in Orlando.

COTTON COMEBACK: Michigan State’s comeback in the Cotton Bowl last January was the school’s biggest ever in a postseason game.

Sunday’s reveal of the four playoff teams carried little suspense. “We do not have any discussion of pairings and where they would play”.

The Crimson Tide is the only team that also played in the first four-team playoff last season. Meanwhile, Shillique Calhoun, Malik McDowell and the rest of Michigan’s State’s defensive line pressure the quarterback as well as Alabama’s nine-deep stable of hand-in-the-dirt monsters.

Saban was 34-21-1 in five seasons at Michigan State (1995-99) before going to LSU, then later the National Football League and to Alabama in 2007.

TURNOVER WATCH: Clemson has gotten here despite actually losing the turnover battle this season, giving the ball away 25 times while forcing 23.

“Last year’s game, people will talk about that, but it really doesn’t mean anything”, Swinney said. “Certainly we went over it but clearly Clemson is the No. 1 team in the nation”. The Spartans have a one-armed quarterback, a running back by committee – the leading rusher, LJ Scott, has 691 yards – and a propensity to fall behind good teams. North Carolina A&T got the bowl spot because of a higher Sagarin rating.

Saban’s second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide will be Michigan State’s opponent in the Cotton Bowl, providing a nice storyline.

Michigan State has won its four bowl games since, including last New Year’s Day when they overcame a 20-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Baylor 42-41 in their first Cotton Bowl. “He’s truly a mentor”.

The No. 4 Sooners, are the first Big 12 program to earn a spot in the College Football Playoff. In the season opener in Arlington, Henry ran for 147 yards and three TDs against Wisconsin. ‘Three top-10 victories on their résumé now.

And it seems redundant to point out how Michigan State falls short. Vegas expects a lower scoring game between Alabama and Michigan State as the over-under is set at 65. It was his second head coaching job (he had been at Toledo for one year), but it was always a means to an end.

There could be a few changes near the top of the AP poll following Saturday night’s conference title games.