College Football Playoff Championship 2015: Schedule, Dates for Inaugural Event

For the first time ever, the national champion in college football will be determined in a playoff format. The inaugural College Football Playoff is just a little over two weeks away.

While many of us would prefer a larger field, the four-team format is still an improvement from the BCS and prior systems.

The semifinals matchups will take place on New Year's Day. These two games will captivate the attention of the American sports world.

Here's a look at the matchups along with their respective times and locations:

No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida State

Rose Bowl Stadium
Pasadena, California
January 1, 2015—5 p.m. ET

No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio State

Mercedes-Benz Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana
January 1, 2015—8:30 p.m. ET

The winners of the semifinals will advance to the national championship final. That game will be played at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Jan. 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Which teams will play in the inaugural CFP?

Here are my picks:

Alabama Crimson Tide

Butch Dill/Associated Press

The Tide has drawn the Ohio State Buckeyes in their semifinal matchup. Without question, Bama has been the best team in the country over the last seven weeks.

In that span, Alabama has defeated five ranked teams.

In Amari Cooper, Alabama has a Heisman Trophy finalist and arguably the best player in the nation.

On defense, Nick Saban's team has allowed just 16.6 points per game. While Ohio State deserves credit for rallying behind third-string quarterback Cardale Jones, it doesn't have the overall team speed to contend with Bama.

Florida State Seminoles

John Raoux/Associated Press

The Noles will be fueled by disrespect and guided by the experience of a core that won a national championship last season.

The team hasn't really looked good in a big game all year, yet many forget that Florida State is the only undefeated team. The Seminoles simply know how to win.

That's something we don't know about the Oregon Ducks—especially not in bowl games. Sure, Oregon is guided by the likely Heisman Trophy winner in Marcus Mariota, but the Ducks defense is ranked just 50th in the nation against the run.

The Seminoles have leaned increasingly on the ground game late in the season, and it has taken pressure off of Jameis Winston. He had his best game of the season against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the ACC Championship game. For just the third time all season, Winston didn't throw an interception.

As the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, Winston will be fired up to play against this year's probable recipient.

Florida State will produce its best performance of the season to beat the Ducks and advance to the final.