It came down to the wire, but in the end, Ohio State bumped TCU from the top four to join Alabama, Oregon and Florida State in the inaugural College Football Playoff.
No. 1 Alabama will place No. 4 OSU in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. No. 2 Oregon will face No. 3 FSU in the Rose Bowl. Both games will be held on New Year's Day.
TCU dropped from No. 3 to No. 6, behind FSU, OSU and Big 12 rival Baylor. The Big 12 now loses out on $6 million for not qualifying a single team for the playoffs.
"We're smarting today," Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said.
OSU, meanwhile, overcame some long odds after losing three-year starter Braxton Miller in the preseason and first-year phenom J.T. Barrett to a season ending injury last week.
The Crimson Tide and the Ducks remained the top two teams, respectively. The Seminoles moved up one spot to No. 3 after defeating Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game, ESPN said.
The College Football Playoff committee runs differently than the AP Top 25. As opposed to collecting a ballot from every member and tallying votes, the committee ranks small groups by a series of votes.
Las Vegas sports betting has Alabama and Oregon as the favorites. Undoubtedly, the other teams will have something to say about that.
Enjoy the playoffs, football fans.
