By MATT MURSCHEL
By MATT MURSCHEL
Tribune News Service
It turns out FSU was good enough to make the College Football Playoff.
After six weeks of constantly defending its body of work to the members of the selection committee, Florida State (13-0) was one of four teams to qualify for four-team playoff. The Seminoles earned the No. 3 playoff spot.
Alabama (12-1) remained at No. 1 after the Crimson Tide captured the Southeastern Conference championship with a 42-13 win over Missouri Saturday in Atlanta.
Oregon (12-1) stayed put at No. 2 following the Ducks impressive 51-13 win over No. 7 Arizona Friday night in the Pac-12 Championship.
Perhaps the biggest question mark surrounding the proceedings was which team would qualify for the fourth and final spot. TCU, Ohio State and Baylor went into this final weekend of play all looking to make their cases to the committee. In the end, it turned out to be Ohio State.
The Buckeyes (12-1) managed to find their way into the top four teams, in part, because of an impressive win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Saturday.
“I think with the championship game, Ohio State proved it was an entire team,” selection committee chairman Jeff Long said.
Florida State makes a return trip across country to the Rose Bowl _ the site of the Seminoles 2013 National Championship victory over Auburn last January _ to take on Oregon on New Year’s Day.
The ‘Noles have won 29 straight games after defeating Georgia Tech on Saturday night to capture the ACC Championship Game for the second straight season.
After getting pushed down to No. 4 in the previous week’s rankings, Long said it was clear FSU deserved the No. 3 spot after its ACC title win and undefeated record.
Alabama will travel the short distance to take on Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl.
The winners will play for the national championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 12, 2015.
Long said there was no talk of adjusting the rankings to provide different matchups, including a possible Alabama-FSU showdown.
Saban seemed content with the opportunity to face off with Ohio State coach Urban Meyer.
“I know what kind of coach Ubran Meyer is,” Saban said. “… They’ve got a great team.”
This was the first season of the College Football Playoff and proponents were looking for a suitable replacement for the Bowl Championship Series. And while the new postseason model has generated a tidal wave of interest in the Playoff itself, the growing criticism appears to have come crashing down on the 12 hand-picked members of the selection committee.
Those members include: Long, Barry Alvarez, Mike Gould, Pat Haden, Tom Jernstedt, Oliver Luck, Tom Osborne, Dan Radakovich, Condoleezza Rice, Mike Tranghese, Steve Wieberg and Tyrone Willingham.
It’s been their charge to come up with a ranking that will be used to determine not only those teams involved in the Playoff, but those teams in the New Year’s Six access bowls, including the Orange, Cotton, Peach and Fiesta.