College Football Playoff 2016: Selection Committee Rankings for Final Week

No more guessing (though second-guessing is to be expected). No more comparing resumes or debating what the College Football Playoff committee might value.  

The final rankings are in. The College Football Playoff is set, and this year's entries are decided: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington are in. Penn State, Michigan and Oklahoma missed the cut.

Below, we'll take a look at the final rankings and break down the likely basis for the committee's decisions.

Analysis

Five teams handled their business over the weekend. Only four teams could reach the College Football Playoff, however.

Alabama cruised to an SEC title, though the Crimson Tide were likely already in the CFP to begin with to start the week. Virginia Tech tested Clemson, but the Tigers held on for a 42-35 win and a berth in the playoff.

Oklahoma got past Oklahoma State, but the Sooners always needed a ton of help to really be a serious contender for a CFP berth.

Things got interesting from there, however.

Coming into the week, Ohio State was ranked No. 2, though it didn't play in the Big Ten title game. Penn State did, however, and the only team to beat Ohio State this season padded its resume with a comeback win over Wisconsin. 

Meanwhile, Washington smoked Colorado, and the debate was on. Which two teams would secure a playoff berth out of those three?

Ultimately, the committee's rankings from the previous week held. Ohio State, ranked No. 2 and offering the best resume in the country—including wins over Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Michigan—secured a postseason berth, though they did drop one place in the rankings. So too did one-loss Washington, leaving the two-loss Nittany Lions in the cold.

Penn State fans will have legitimate gripes with the committee's decision. The Nittany Lions beat Ohio State and won the strongest conference in college football this year. But they also suffered a loss against Pittsburgh, a quality nonconference foe. Washington didn't schedule a tough nonconference schedule and seemingly was rewarded for that fact.

"What I do know is that we just won the toughest conference in college football," Penn State coach James Franklin told the Associated Press (via ESPN.com) after his team beat Wisconsin on Saturday night. "We've won nine straight. They say you're allowed to overcome minor setbacks. We've done that. It's up to you, committee."

Unfortunately, it wasn't enough.

After all, Penn State had two losses. Ohio State's nonconference win over Oklahoma and victory over Michigan—remember, Penn State was obliterated by the Wolverines—was likely enough to push it past the Nittany Lions. And had the committee left out a one-loss conference champion, Washington, it would have been just as controversial.

Ultimately, the committee chose not to punish any of its Top Four teams from the week before. While there will be debate about which criteria the committee should emphasize going forward—just how much are conference championships or head-to-head wins worth?—it's hard to argue that the four playoff teams didn't make strong cases for themselves throughout the season.

Now, it's simply a matter of crowning a national champion. Alabama will be the favorite. But Ohio State, Clemson and Washington have the talent to give the Crimson Tide a run for their money. 

The committee's rankings are important for a few more bowl games, meanwhile.

USC finishing above Colorado in the final rankings means a matchup between the Trojans and Nittany Lions in the Rose Bowl. Auburn's status as the second-highest ranked team from the SEC means it will meet Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. Michigan remaining a Top Six team means it faces Florida State in the Orange Bowl. And Western Michigan and Wisconsin will face off in the Cotton Bowl.

There are some tasty matchups forthcoming, in other words. USC vs. Penn State, a matchup of two of the hottest teams in college football, could ultimately be one of the games of the season. That may not be much of a consolation for Penn State, however, as the Nittany Lions came oh so close to securing a playoff bid.

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