College Football Playoff Championship 2015: Dates, Odds and Matchup Predictions

In less than a month, the inaugural College Football Playoff will decide a true champion. With four teams now competing for the crown, each are deserving after winning conference titles in the final weekend.

The final four includes four of the most illustrious programs in college football history. Florida State and Oregon will face off in the Rose Bowl prior to Ohio State and Alabama taking the field in the Sugar Bowl for the right to make the national championship game.

Jameis Winston vs. Marcus Mariota will give way for Nick Saban vs. Urban Meyer. However, each of these programs has playmakers all over the field and some of the most impressive systems in the country.

With the bracket set, here's a look at the dates, odds and predictions for the College Football Playoff.

Bowl	Date	Matchup	Odds	TV	Prediction
Sugar	Jan. 1	No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State	BAMA (-9)	ESPN	Alabama
Rose	Jan. 1	No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State	OREG (-8.5)	ESPN	Oregon

Odds via OddsShark.com on Dec. 11 at 7 a.m. ET.

Rose Bowl

In terms of talent alone, the Rose Bowl is the matchup college football fans have been waiting for.

Both quarterbacks appear to have bright futures, but it's clear that this season has belonged to Mariota. Despite a slip-up against Arizona earlier this year, Mariota has led the Ducks back into the national title bracket and has them looking like a strong contender.

In fact, Mariota has been reminiscent of his opponent on New Year's Day, via ESPN Stats & Info:

Mariota against Winston will be the storyline, of course, but it's not quite that simple. Both signal-callers are equipped with impressive receivers like Byron Marshall and Rashad Greene, but their backfield partners will be difference-makers.

Royce Freeman has set the Pac-12 on fire as a freshman, collecting over 1,400 yards from scrimmage and 17 total touchdowns. Along with Freeman, Dalvin Cook has been another one of the most impressive frosh players this season.

Though Cook hasn't been the lead back all season like Freeman, David Hale of ESPN.com notes how productive he's been late in the year:

Winston and Cook will prove to be a difficult task for Oregon, but ultimately, the Ducks offense is more prolific. Having a dual-threat option like Mariota to go along with a power back like Freeman, Oregon will roll to the national championship game.

Sugar Bowl

Oh man, this one is going to be fun. Every time Saban and Meyer have hooked up, it's always a hyped-up game. However, the last two matchups have been blowouts for Alabama when Meyer was coaching Florida.

This season, both coaches have found success in completely different ways.

For Saban, the Crimson Tide decided to completely overhaul the offense coming into the season by bringing in Lane Kiffin. The former Tennessee and USC head coach has been successful thanks in large part to trust from the man who handed the reins to him.

Leading up to the SEC Championship, Saban spoke about the job Kiffin has done, via Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com:

"

He is exactly what I thought he was, does what I expected him to do. I got exactly what I expected. I don't think anybody else expected what I expected, to the point where I even got criticized for doing it by a lot of people. 

But I got what I expected. You all didn't get what you expected.

"

Criticism of decision-making is part of college football, but it didn't stop with bringing in Kiffin. Another huge part of the reason why Alabama comes in at No. 1 is quarterback Blake Sims, who was overshadowed by Jacob Coker in the offseason.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports notes how impressive Sims has been this season:

Sure, he has the likes of Amari Cooper to throw the ball to, but Sims has made all the right throws this year. He's also been a consistent force for the Tide, which is more than Ohio State can say about their signal-callers.

After losing both Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett this season, Meyer was forced to resort to Cardale Jones. The sophomore responded in the Big Ten Championship Game with three passing touchdowns.

One of the biggest roots of that success was the impressive offensive line, as Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report points out:

Regardless of who is under center, he will have protection and time to find the likes of Devin Smith in the passing game. Unfortunately, even Jones, Smith and Ezekiel Elliott won't be enough to take down Alabama and its stout defense.

Sims will continue to carry his team into a showdown with Oregon. Having an offense led by Kiffin, taking down a Pac-12 opponent on the biggest stage would also be sweet, sweet revenge for the former Trojans coach.

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