Sooners To Face Clemson In Orange Bowl

Alabama finishes No. 2 in the final ranking, and will play No. 3 Michigan State in the other semifinal, the Cotton Bowl on December 31. WDET Detroit Today producer and sports journalist Art Regner tells Pat Batcheller the Spartans know the Crimson Tide’s head coach very well.

After weeks of inside analysis and expert projections, the College Football Playoff committee settled the game’s greatest debate on Sunday by announcing Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma as the four programs that will compete for this year’s national championship.

While Clemson vs. Oklahoma will be rather wide-open, Alabama vs. Michigan State should be one of the most physical matchups of the season.

“We’re going to play on edge”, Dantonio said.

The heart and soul of the Big Ten champion Spartans, quarterback Connor Cook engineered Michigan State to an 11-1 record in 2015, missing his team’s November 21 date at Ohio State due to a shoulder injury.

Everyone from Las Vegas to Bristol, Conn., seems to think Alabama is a lock to win the Cotton Bowl semifinal and advance to the national championship game, but nothing is guaranteed at this level. “That’s the kind of football a lot of people enjoy watching”.

Along with playing his former team, Saban and the Crimson Tide get another shot at the Big Ten.

The College Football Playoff selection committee has chosen the four teams who will compete for the sport’s national championship.

“When I was there, it was a hard time”, said Saban, also Michigan State’s defensive coordinator for five seasons in the 1980s. We knew that Oklahoma was basically guaranteed a spot in the playoff since they did not have a conference championship game to play in. Michigan State’s only chance is to stop Derrick Henry and be able to move the ball on offense, keeping Henry and the Alabama offense off the field. “I don’t think any of it is about getting teams back or them trying to get us back”, said junior cornerback Zack Sanchez.

Iowa returns to the Rose Bowl Game for the first time since a matchup with Washington to conclude the 1990 season. Not even the Danny Ford-led Tigers of 1981 won as many games as the 2015 Clemson team, which will need to win twice more in order to hoist the national championship trophy.

After a three-game losing streak – and the biggest loss of the year, 55-16, to Michigan State – fans in Happy Valley are understandably restless.

“My mindset as a football coach has been shaped by the people I’ve worked for”.

That’s precisely what Ohio State did in last season’s semis, of course, by a stunning 42-35 result that left Saban’s head spinning. “He’s truly a mentor”. Both were traveling. The Sooners last won a national title in 2000, Stoops’ second season in Norman. “I made it clear that we’re supposed to rank four best teams and I believe that we’ve done that”. Henry now has 1,986 yards for his career to set the Southeastern Conference’s all-time single-season mark for rushing yards.

A fourth seed, the Buckeyes upset top seed Alabama in the semifinal game in New Orleans and beat second seed OR in the championship game in Arlington, Texas.

Alabama and Michigan State, both 12-1, have played only once before.

Muschamp spent four seasons with the Gators, leading them to an 11-3 season in 2012.

Smart was expected to remain at Alabama through the playoffs, though Saban would surely carve out time for him to handle some of his new duties at Georgia.

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