College football shuffles the playoff deck

Later today, the College Football Playoff selection committee will make public who will qualify for the Playoff, to take place on January 1. Based on the results of yesterday's games, we may not need ESPN eating up half the afternoon to get to that result.

Top-ranked Clemson won its 3rd straight Atlantic Coast Conference title in thrashing Miami. #3 Oklahoma copped the Big 12 title in similarly dominating fashion by demolishing Texas Christian (TCU). Meanwhile, Auburn could not sustain the momentum of beating Alabama last week, and lost out on the Southeastern Conference title, as Georgia achieved revenge for a beating last month. Ohio State ended Wisconsin's bid for a perfect season, and claimed the Big 10 title in the process.

And, so, as of now, it seems this is how the playoff would shake out:

1. Clemson.
2. Georgia.
3. Oklahoma.
4. Ohio State.

However, there is a debate as to whether or not Ohio State belongs in the Playoff anyway, considering they have 2 losses, one of those in the Big 10 (Iowa), and the other a non-conference loss to Oklahoma. Alabama coach Nick Saban was a guest on ESPN's College GameDay on Saturday, but I didn't see the whole show, so I can't say if he was on the stump for his team. Ideally, as it stands now, the Playoff has 4 teams, one each from 4 of the "Power 5" conferences, as Pac-12 champion USC is on the outside after beating Stanford on Friday. The underlying factor in allowing Ohio State, which would face Clemson in the Playoff, over Alabama or even Central Florida, the only undefeated team left in the FBS, is the prospect of high ratings for a potential rematch with Oklahoma, should the Sooners beat Georgia on January 1.

Updated, 1:27 pm (ET): Alabama, despite not being in the SEC title game, gets in ahead of Ohio State, and for the 2nd year in a row, the Big 10 champion (Penn State last year) gets hosed. Only 3 of the "Power 5" conferences will be represented, and I'm already reading comments from angry fans who believe that because there are no teams from the East, Midwest, or West, the ratings will plummet. Not so sure about that. Was the fix in? We'll never know.