Ohio State Trumps Baylor, TCU to Snag Final College Playoff Berth

All week long, the debate has raged.

Who will it be?  TCU?  Baylor?  TCU was ranked in the top four going into the weekend.  Baylor beat TCU.

As it turned out, all that conversation meant nothing.

The Ohio State University moved up to the #4 and final spot in the College Football Playoff rankings and will play #1 Alabama in the National Semifinals at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1.  The committee could not ignore Ohio State’s 59-0 thumping of Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game.

Baylor moved ahead of TCU and was the first team out at #5.  TCU, despite winning over Iowa State 55-3, dropped from #3 to #6.  Baylor defeated #9 Kansas State 38-27.

Committee chairman Jeff Long said,"The conference championship made a strong case for Ohio State.  Their performance simply moved them ahead of the other two teams."

Long did not directly mention the lack of a championship game in the Big 12, but emphasized Ohio State's performance in a 13th game was the deciding factor.

Ohio State has lost its top two quarterbacks, but it didn’t matter yesterday as the Buckeyes rolled despite being a slight underdog in the game.  QB Cardale Jones threw for 257 yards and three touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott added 220 yards rushing on 20 carries.

#2 Oregon will play defending champion #3 Florida State in the other semifinal, to be held at the Rose Bowl.