College Football Playoff: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Washington In; Penn State and Michigan on the Outside

The college football playoff was announced. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington are in. Penn State, the champion of the Big Ten, was left out at the gun, as was Michigan, who had a case based on results. Penn State had two losses, and that was not enough to overcome Ohio State’s 11-1 record and road win over Oklahoma, even though Penn State did have the head-to-head win over the Buckeyes.

Michigan had the blowout win over Penn State, and wins over Colorado and Wisconsin, but wasn’t going to be a second at-large getting in from the Big Ten over the champion.

This was the result that offered the least controversy, even though Penn State has a case. The Pac-12 would have been irate if a 1-loss champion did not get in, leaving them out for 2nd year in a row. Ohio State is ranked 2nd in both the final regular season coaches and AP poll.

#1 Alabama will meet #4 Washington, while #2 Clemson will play #3 Ohio State.

Here’s Kirby Hocutt’s explanation on why the committee chose Washington over Penn State.