Final College Football Playoff rankings: Alabama reigns

The verdict is in. The four teams who will comprise the third annual College Football Playoff have been announced and we can spend even more time debating if they got it right. Just as we do when the NCAA Tournament brackets are released, we can argue about who should of been there and what the committee felt was more important when selecting the teams but it will be just as futile. Especially since, unlike the NCAA Tournament, the first team 'snubbed' would have had an outstanding shot at winning a national championship.

This past weekend, pretty much everyone did what they needed to in order to claim a spot. Alabama demolished Florida for the SEC championship; Clemson held off Virginia Tech for the ACC crown; Washington blasted Colorado to win the Pac-12; Penn State came back to stun Wisconsin for the Big Ten championship; and Oklahoma spanked rival Oklahoma State in the Bedlam Game that reeled in the Big 12 title. Oh, and Ohio State and Michigan sat in front of their televisions hoping the committee looks past the fact that not only would they not be conference champions but didn't even win their division.

So here are the rankings:

#1: Alabama
The Crimson Tide not only won the SEC championship but did so about as convincing as you could possibly win it. If the Tide are to win the National Championship this season, they will do so undefeated unlike their last three titles. They won the 2009 BCS National Championship with zero losses (the next three were all one loss seasons).

#2: Clemson
If you wanted to know if the committee did value conference championships, well they vaulted past idle Ohio State to claim the No. 2 spot. In reality, it doesn't matter too much other than for the coin flip in the Fiesta Bowl. Still, Clemson had a relatively underwhelming follow up to their national championship appearance last season and still find themselves 12-1 and ACC Champions.

#3: Ohio State
Ohio State becomes the first (and only) non-champion of a conference to make the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes get in because of who they beat and how they lost.  The Buckeyes beat Michigan, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Nebraska and their only loss came on a blocked kick for a field goal at Penn State. The Buckeyes passed the eye test as the feel of a team that was one of the four best teams in the nation. Remember back in 2011 when Alabama won a National Champion despite not winning the SEC nor the SEC West division.

#4: Washington
The only spot really up in the air was this one. Washington holds on to it because of their convincing win over Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game and despite one of the worst non-conference schedules in the country. While there will be continuing debate over the Huskies' worth, they did win a deceptively tough Pac-12 and Pac-12 North Division. Let me say this, however: the committee keeps speaking on Ohio State playing a tough non-conference schedule and implore other to do so but Washington made it into this playoff by playing one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the FBS. Oklahoma did, lost, blew through the Big 12 season and yet is sitting on the outside looking in. If Oklahoma had played Rutgers (Washington's top non-con opponent) instead of Ohio State would they be in the playoff?  Well, Washington has a tough play as they get to travel across the country to Atlanta to face Alabama.

First two out (plus one)

#5: Penn State
Sure, this has to be disappointing. They win the Big Ten championship which is arguably the top conference this year. They are the only team to beat Ohio State this season. Their lone losses were to No. 6 Michigan and a Pittsburgh team that also beat No. 2 Clemson. The Nittany Lions are one of the hottest teams over the last two months and if they were in the playoff would have a great shot to win a national championship. Still, there is no need to feel sour in Happy Valley.  This has been an amazing run and winning the Big Ten championship should be celebrated wildly. They will go to the Rose Bowl and get to continue a stunning season.

#6: Michigan
Nothing went as planned for Michigan this weekend. The wrong teams (for them) won their conference championships. Not only did they not get into the top four but they were actually jumped over by Penn State. Michigan lost two games this season – at Ohio State and at Iowa – and both were on the last play of the game. They beat Big Ten champion Penn State by 39 points. They also beat the other team in the Big Ten title game, Wisconsin, as well as Colorado. Their downfall came because they failed to close out Ohio State in the regular season finale which, in turn, caused them to lose two of the last three games. Off to the Orange Bowl to face Florida State.

#7 Oklahoma
The Sooners weren't really close to sneaking in to get a playoff spot. But why not? Oklahoma joined Alabama as the only Power 5 schools to go undefeated in conference play, they played Ohio State and Houston in the non-conference and they have won every game in October, November and December. Big 12 commish Bob Bowlsby is pretty upset that his champion wasn't even considered for a spot. He has a point. He was told non-conference schedules matter when Baylor didn't get a playoff spot in 2014 and that a conference championship game mattered when TCU didn't get in the same year. Well, Washington's non-conference slate and Ohio State's non-champion status was looked past this season. Yet Oklahoma goes to the Sugar Bowl to play 8-4 Auburn. Does the Big 12 have a point as being disrespected?

The rest of the pack 

#8: Wisconsin
Wisconsin will get to play undefeated Western Michigan in the Cotton Bowl. Sigh. Tough for the Badgers that were playing for a Big Ten title yesterday and were hoping for a playoff spot. Instead, they face an undefeated Broncos team that will be the darling everywhere. Lose that game and it would be epic. Win, and you are a bully. Still, this was an unranked team heading into the season and now in a New Year's Six game.

#9: USC
The Trojans rank ahead of Colorado and that will get them Penn State in the Rose Bowl. Pretty stunning when you think that this team was once 1-3 after being drubbed by Alabama and Stanford in the first few weeks.

#10: Colorado
Still, it has to stink to be the Buffs. The Pac-12 South Division champions lost just three games all season and they were to Michigan, Washington and USC.

#11: Florida State
Florida State gets to go to the Orange Bowl ahead of Louisville despite losing to the Cardinals 63-20 and having two more ACC losses. I know Louisville is limping into the bowls but it makes no sense on a conference level.

#12: Oklahoma State
Where would this team be ranked right now if not for the Central Michigan game debacle?

#13: Louisville
Cardinals fans must be a bit perplexed. As I said, they pounded Florida State and went 7-1 in ACC play to Florida State's 5-3 mark.  Yet Florida State is ranked ahead of them. Well, getting blown out by unranked Houston and an inferior Kentucky team.

#14: Auburn
Auburn will get to the Sugar Bowl to face Oklahoma. This is odd to see since Auburn has lost 4 games but the SEC's upper class wasn't as good as usual.

#16: Western Michigan
The Broncos were never ranked before this season, but with this undefeated season and this ranking, they will be going to the Cotton Bowl. Such a huge accomplishment for this university.

#17: Florida
The Gators struggled in big games save for the awkward game against LSU.

#18: Stanford
Give Stanford credit. After having such a horrible stretch mid-season, the Cardinal rebounded to a 9-3 season.

#19: Utah
The Utes had a poor end to the season, losing three of their final four games. Sure, losing to Washington and Colorado aren't shameful. Losing to the 2016 version of Oregon is.

#20: LSU
No one had a tougher schedule to end the season and the Tigers went 3-2 in those games, losing to only Alabama and Florida. LSU also shows what kind of joke the preseason rankings are.

#21: Tennessee
The Vols left a lot on the table. Sure, losing to Texas A&M and Alabama in consecutive weeks wasn't shameful, but losing to South Carolina and Vanderbilt was. Next year may big a huge one for head coach Butch Jones.

#22: Virginia Tech
Fantastic first season of the post-Frank Beamer era. Sure, they beat just one ranked team all year but they hung with Clemson in the ACC title game and are trending the right direction.

#23: Pittsburgh
Think about what could have been for the Panthers.  hey beat Clemson and Penn State and hung with Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech and lost in the final moments to North Carolina. If that Virginia Tech game went the other way they would have been in the ACC title game. If they stopped North Carolina in the final seconds, they would have had a legit shot at playing in the Orange Bowl.

#24: Temple
Nothing against Navy, but thank you Temple for winning and not letting the Army-Navy game hold the bowls hostage for another week.

#25: Navy
Great season again for Navy. I'd love to see them become the big thing coming out of the American Athletic Conference and see them in a bowl like the Cotton or Fiesta one year.