College Football Rankings 2014: Final Playoff Bracket and Semifinal Predictions

The inaugural College Football Playoff has increased the intrigue surrounding the bowl season. For the very first time, four teams have the opportunity to come away with the title of national champion. However, they must first get through their respective semifinal bowl games.    

On Sunday, members of the CFP selection committee scrutinized every contending teams' strength of schedule, quality wins, poor losses, eye tests and whatever other criteria they deemed relevant to ultimately determine the nation's Top Four.

Here's a look at their findings in the form of the final playoff bracket:

With the semifinal matchups now set in stone, let's take a look at which two teams are likely to forge berths in the national championship game.

Sugar Bowl

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State

USA TODAY Sports

There was very little doubt that Nick Saban's team would be ranked any lower than No. 1 overall following Alabama's 42-13 drubbing of the Missouri Tigers.

Throughout the season, the Crimson Tide have been consistent and very efficient on both sides of the ball, ranking 17th in the nation in points scored and fourth in points against.

Senior quarterback Blake Sims atoned for several miscues in the Iron Bowl against Auburn by producing a stellar performance in the SEC title game. He completed 23 of his 27 passing attempts for 262 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions.

Sims' fine showing left him with this accolade, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Prolific wide receiver Amari Cooper hauled in 12 of those passes for 83 yards, while running back T.J. Yeldon carried 20 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns. Alabama's offense racked up almost 37 minutes on the field, dominating the time of possession.

Ohio State's 15th-ranked defense is coming off a shutout win against Wisconsin; however, the Badgers were a very one-dimensional, run-heavy offense. A well-versed Alabama defense will pose a much larger threat.

With quarterback J.T. Barrett out for the season, uncertainty surrounded the Buckeyes entering the Big Ten Championship Game. However, backup Cardale Jones quickly put any doubts to rest, completing 12 of his 17 passing attempts for 257 yards and three touchdowns against the Badgers.

According to ESPN Stats & Info, Jones is off to a historically good start:

Jones was complemented nicely by running back Ezekiel Elliott, who torched Wisconsin for 220 yards and two scores on 20 carries, balancing the offense and keeping a tough Badgers defense on its heels throughout the game.

It may be difficult to find that kind of success against Alabama's 11th-ranked defense. The Crimson Tide are only allowing an average of 4.68 yards per play this season, and that doesn't bode well for an Ohio State team that didn't have to sustain a scoring drive longer than seven plays against Wisconsin.

Alabama will take away those big plays from Jones and Co., forcing the quarterback to sustain longer drives against its stout defense. While Urban Meyer will put his signal-caller in a position to succeed, Jones' inexperience will lead to some costly mistakes, and ultimately a loss.

Prediction: Alabama 31, Ohio State 27

Rose Bowl

No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State

Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Oregon enters the Rose Bowl boasting the nation's third-ranked offense, scoring an average of 46.3 points per game and coming off a 51-point performance in the Pac-12 Championship Game against Arizona.

Just how good has this Ducks offense been? It has scored at least 42 points in each of its last eight games.

Obviously, credit must be given to quarterback Marcus Mariota. The Heisman Trophy hopeful has been electrifying this season, totaling 53 touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions along the way.

Here's the difference in passing numbers this season between Mariota and his upcoming opponent, via SportsCenter:

Although, Mariota hasn't done it alone. He's surrounded by highly skilled playmakers in running back Royce Freeman and wide receiver Byron Marshall.

Freeman rushed for 114 yards against Arizona, forming a perfect complement to Oregon's passing attack. While Marshall only caught five passes for 23 yards, his presence helped free up other targets for Mariota, as both Darren Carrington and Charles Nelson eclipsed 100 yards receiving.

Florida State hasn't been extremely stout on the defensive side of the ball this season, ranking 51st in the nation, allowing 378.3 yards per game and giving up 36 offensive touchdowns.

The Ducks should always expect to put some points on the board, so Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston needs to be in top form.

Luckily, Winston has plenty of momentum heading into this contest after completing 21 of his 30 passing attempts for 309 yards and three touchdowns against Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

However, Winston hasn't been able to get out of the gate quickly this season and has been forced to come from behind often. ESPN's Joe Schad humorously tweeted his take on how the quarterback can beat the Ducks:

Running back Karlos Williams missed the ACC title game, but Dalvin Cook was unleashed in a big way. The freshman ball-carrier accumulated 177 rushing yards, 43 receiving yards and one touchdown, combining with prolific wide receiver Rashad Greene to form two fantastic weapons for Winston.

The Seminoles put up 37 points on the Yellow Jackets, but they will need to find paydirt early and often to keep up with the Ducks. That's a possibility when considering Oregon's defense ranks 80th in the nation in yards allowed; however, in an expected shootout, it's hard to bet against Mariota.

Prediction: Oregon 45, Florida State 35

All team statistics and rankings courtesy of NCAA.com and current as of December 7.