Every year the anticipation builds up as the college football season winds down. Projections come out as rankings are debated. Some people dislike the rankings, mainly because their team isn’t where they want it to be. Some fans agree with the rankings, probably because their team is in the distinguished top four. This year, Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, and Washington will fight for it all beginning on New Year’s Eve.

In the first two years using the playoff system over the infamous BCS system, the rankings have seen a drastic change from the week they are first released to the final rankings.

In the first season, the teams that were ranked in the final top four started out ranking sixth, fifth, second, and sixteenth respective to the order of finish.

In the second season, the final top four started up ranking first, fourth, seventh, and fifteenth, respectively. However, this season has shown us much less change throughout the season. The final top 4 began ranking as first, second, sixth, and fifth.

These rankings have been reflected by a committee of well-known executives in college football. Before this system began, the BCS system chose our two finalists for the championship. The computer system was highly controversial, leading to the rise of the playoff system. However, ever since this system has started, some people have called for even more change.

“I don’t like the playoff system today. I think they should have more than just four teams,” said sophomore Spencer O’Neil.

Sophomore Michael Marinucci had a similar idea saying, “It would be nice to see one more team make the playoffs, giving the number one team a bye.”

Yet, there were still some believers in the system they use such as sophomore Alec Jennings, who said, “The playoff system today is well organized and gives more teams a chance to be champions.”

This year was one of the tightest races for the final two spots. Everybody knew that Alabama and Clemson would be in, but there was much debate over spots three and four. One of the reasons for debate was the situation with Ohio State who had gone 11-1 over the season, with that one loss being to Penn State, but ended up ranking third. Penn State ended the season ranking fifth with a record of 11-2 and a Big Ten championship. So with a win over Ohio State and a conference championship, wouldn’t it be an obvious choice for Penn State to be in the playoffs instead of Ohio State? Apparently, the committee thought otherwise, likely punishing Penn State for their loss to mediocre Pittsburgh and a blowout loss to Michigan.

Speaking of Michigan, who ranked sixth, people also thought that they should’ve likely gotten into the playoff over fourth-ranked Washington.

The biggest knock on Washington was that they did not have that difficult of a schedule. They had the 15th-ranked strength of schedule, while Michigan had the second ranked.

Sophomore Jacob Swerc was one of the doubters of the committee’s decision saying, “They made the wrong choice. Washington played really badly against other top ten teams while Michigan did really well. Michigan should’ve been in instead.”

His belief was also similar to Marinucci’s, who said, “Michigan should’ve been in over Washington because Michigan only had two losses, one by one point and the other in double overtime to the number two team in the nation. That loss was also highly controversial.”

Jennings vouched for a Penn State bid to the playoffs declaring, “Washington should not have gotten in and Penn State should have. They beat Ohio State and Washington hasn’t played anyone that good.”

Even with all this doubt over the selections for the playoff, there is a large agreement over who people think will win the national championship. Alabama is the overwhelming favorite to win it all, steamrolling through the season with an undefeated season while facing the toughest schedule. They also have the stingiest defense in all of college football and are lead on their twenty-sixth ranked offense by promising freshman quarterback Jalen Hurts. They were the champions last year and are expected to take the trophy home again this year.

Alabama will be facing off with Washington in the Peach Bowl. Washington won the Pac-12 Championship with only one loss on the season.

They are perhaps the most overlooked team in this playoff, as people believe that their fate was sealed once they were assigned the task of facing Alabama. While Alabama gets credit for their defense, people don’t realize that Washington boasts the tenth ranked defense along with the twenty-second ranked offense. Pretty similar to the numbers Alabama possesses.

After that game resolves, Clemson will clash with Ohio State. Clemson has gone through the season with one loss and an ACC Championship. They are lead by one of the best quarterbacks in the game in Deshaun Watson. Watson is a finalist for the prestigious Heisman trophy and could be holding the honor by the time the game arrives. They have the highest ranked offense of any team in the playoff, checking in at thirteenth. Meanwhile, they have a powerful defense that is ranked ninth overall. Even with this strong team, they had their ups and downs over the course of the year. They escaped an almost sure loss when North Carolina State missed a potential game-winning chip shot field goal and Clemson would end up winning in overtime. The results show for themselves, it wasn’t pretty, but Clemson got it done when they needed to and that netted them a playoff berth.

Ohio State had a tumultuous season when everyone expected them to be one of the best. They had inconsistent play most of the year, which lead some people to doubt they would make the playoffs. Nevertheless, they kicked it into high gear at the end of the season, with a win against Michigan keeping their playoff dreams alive.

They have one of the best defenses in the nation, falling in at fourth. They pair the wondrous defense with a talented offense as well, as they come in at twenty-first overall. Ohio State is lead by ball hawk defensive back Malik Hooker, who has six interceptions on the year. On their offense, quarterback J.T. Barrett, the Big Ten player of the year, takes control.

There was much dispute between our fellow MHS students, with a multitude of different winners. Sadly, no one believes Washington has any shot in this playoff.

Marinucci shares the sentiment of many college football fans proclaiming, “Alabama will win the playoffs. They have and all around great team that the other three teams don’t stack up with.”

Jennings believes Clemson will take home the title that evaded them last season, declaring, “Clemson is going to win it for sure. They have Deshaun Watson, a great QB, and they just have a great team.”

O’Neil has confidence in the Buckeyes taking home their second title in three years, stating, “Ohio State is going to win. They always come up in the clutch and they are going to do it again this year.”

Despite what anyone may believe, the college football playoff is as unpredictable as it gets.

It may not have the number of teams as March Madness, but the hype surrounding this year’s games is real. In the end, a champion will be crowned on the night of January 9th in Tampa, Florida.