When is the championship game and where will it be played?
The championship game will be played Jan. 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. (8 p.m., ESPN).
How do the teams match up?
Alabama is making its fifth trip to the title game in six years. Ohio State won the championship in 2014, the first year of the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide is loaded with playmakers on offense and may provide an even bigger challenge for Ohio State’s defense than Clemson did. One of the biggest questions will be the health of Buckeyes’ quarterback Justin Fields, who took a big hit Friday but stayed in the game.
How are the teams selected for the College Football Playoff?
A 13-member selection committee ranks the top 25 teams in the country, with the top four earning berths in the national semifinals. The rankings also help determine matchups for other major bowl games.
What happened in last year’s championship game?
Clemson closed a 28-17 halftime deficit to 28-25 with 10:49 left in the third quarter, but LSU’s Joe Burrow (463 passing yards, five touchdowns) answered with two scoring passes and LSU won, 42-25, to capture its third national title in 17 seasons.
How did Alabama get in?
The Crimson Tide again was the nation’s most dominant team, rarely challenged in going undefeated. Of the FBS teams that played more than four games, Alabama led the nation in points per game and has scored at least 52 points in four of its past five games. Two Crimson Tide players — quarterback Mac Jones and wide receiver DeVonta Smith — are among the Heisman Trophy finalists. Alabama’s defense has slipped a few times, giving up 48 points to Mississippi in Oct. 10 and 46 to Florida in Saturday’s SEC championship game, but the Steve Sarkisian-designed offense has bailed it out each time.
How did Ohio State get in?
The Buckeyes played only six games because of coronavirus issues and needed the Big Ten to change its rules for the season to even get into the conference championship game, where they struggled to overcome Northwestern on Saturday. Fields has labored against Ohio State’s toughest opposition, combining to throw five interceptions with only two touchdown passes against the Wildcats and Indiana on Nov. 21.
What teams have made it in the past?
Of the 28 playoff berths awarded the first seven years of its existence, 20 have gone to just four programs (Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma, Ohio State). Only six teams ever have won a playoff game. Alabama and Clemson played each other in four consecutive playoffs from 2016 through 2019, three times in the championship game and once in the semifinals.
What teams have won?
Ohio State won the first playoff title in 2015. Since then, Alabama (2016 and 2018) and Clemson (2017 and 2019) have won two and LSU was champion last season.
When did the playoffs begin?
It began with the 2014-15 season and on Jan. 1, 2015, when the first national semifinals pitted No. 1 seed Alabama against No. 4 seed Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans and No. 2 seed Oregon against No. 3 seed Florida State in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
What are the locations and dates for future championship games?
Semifinals: Dec. 31, 2021, Irving, Tex., and Miami Gardens, Fla.
Final: Jan. 10, Indianapolis
Semifinals: Dec. 31, 2022, Glendale, Ariz., and Atlanta
Final: Jan. 9, 2023, Inglewood, Calif.
Semifinals: Jan 1, 2024, Pasadena, Calif., and New Orleans
Final: Jan. 8, 2024, Houston
Final College Football Playoff rankings of 2020
12. Coastal Carolina (11-0)
23 North Carolina State (8-3)