Playoff bound: Alabama No. 4 in final College Football Playoff rankings
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — No conference championship, no problem. Alabama is headed to the College Football Playoff for the fourth straight year after the Crimson Tide earned the No. 4 spot in the final rankings released Sunday.
Alabama (11-1) will play No. 1 Clemson (12-1) most likely in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1 at 7:45 p.m. CT. No. 2 Oklahoma (12-1) will play No. 3 Georgia most likely in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 1 at 4 p.m. The winners of both games will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 8 in Atlanta.
“We're extremely pleased for our team, our players, our coaches and all the people who work hard here for us,” Alabama head coach Nick Saban said in a release. “I'd like to congratulate the other teams that will have the opportunity to participate in the playoff as well as the teams who were considered and had potential to be selected. We are really pleased and happy to be a part of the College Football Playoff again this year.”
Alabama edged out No. 5 Ohio State (11-2) for the final playoff spot. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten title with a 27-21 victory over No. 6 Wisconsin (12-1) but couldn’t get past having two losses, especially a 55-24 loss to Iowa (7-5). Alabama becomes the second team to advance to the College Football Playoff despite not winning its conference championship game. Ohio State was the first team to do so last year.
With Alabama joining SEC champion Georgia in the playoff, it marks the first time in the four-year history of the playoff that two teams from the same conference earned a spot. Alabama is the only team to qualify for all four College Football Playoffs.
The Sugar Bowl matchup will be a rematch of the past two national championship games. Clemson beat Alabama 35-31 during last season’s national title game, while the Crimson Tide topped the Tigers 45-40 in the 2015 title game. Clemson comes into the matchup fresh off a 38-3 victory over Miami in the ACC Championship Game.
College Football Playoff rankings
1. Clemson 12-1
2 Oklahoma 12-1
3. Gerogia 12-1
4. Alabama 11-1
5. Ohio State 11-2
6. Wisconsin 12-1
7. Auburn 10-3
8. Southern California 11-2
9. Penn State 10-2
10. Miami 10-2
11. Washington 10-2
12. Central Florida 12-0
13. Stanford 9-4
14. Notre Dame 9-3
15. TCU 10-3
16. Michigan State 9-3
17. LSU 9-3
18. Washington State 9-3
19. Oklahoma State 9-2
20. Memphis 10-2
21. Northwestern 9-3
22. Virginia Tech 9-3
23. Mississippi State 8-4
24. N.C. State 8-4
25. Boise State 10-3