Nov 9, 2019; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; LSU Tigers quarterback Joe Burrow (9) and LSU Tigers head coach Ed Orgeron celebrates with teammates after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide 46-41 during the second half of an NCAA college football game at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Butch Dill-USA TODAY Sports

The slate of college football conference championship games this past weekend removed much of the drama from Sunday’s College Football Playoff announcement. However, a season’s worth of debating and arguing can now give way to a few week’s worth of debating seeding and snubbing now that the LSU Tigers, Ohio State Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers, and Oklahoma Sooners are headed to the playoffs.

No. 1 LSU and No. 4 Oklahoma will play in the Peach Bowl in Georgia while  No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson will square off in the Fiesta Bowl in Arizona.

Oklahoma earned the No. 4 seed thanks to their 12-1 record and winning the Big 12 Championship over Baylor this weekend. The Sooners are led by Jalen Hurts, who transferred from Alabama this past year to play one more season. Even though his former team isn’t in the playoff, Hurts will have now made it to the CFP for four-consecutive seasons, albeit this time in a different uniform. Oklahoma is considered the outsider of the group (inasmuch as Oklahoma can be considered an outsider) but the CFP has seen stranger things than a 12-1 4-seed advancing into the title game.

The Clemson Tigers are disrespected. Or are they? That’s what Dabo Swinney certainly wants you to believe given the flak the defending champions have taken for playing a soft schedule. The ACC was a trainwreck this season but Clemson did everything that was asked of them and, aside from a near-stumble against UNC, has steamrolled opponents just like they steamrolled Virginia in the ACC Championship game.

Everything assumed that the CFP was set before the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday night until Wisconsin put the fear of God into Buckeyes fans. However, OSU remembered who they were and ended up pulling away to beat the Badgers, win the Big Ten, and finish the regular season 13-0. In many other seasons, they might have been the No. 1 seed but at least this gives the CFP’s most curious yearly competitor a fresh angle to motivate themselves with.

And as for the No. 1 seed LSU Tigers, they’ve taken the mantle from mighty Alabama as the top team in the nation and the favorite to win it all. The Tigers beat Bama and everyone else they played in the regular season and then totally dominated Georgia to win the SEC Championship. Ed Orgeron’s squad has been turning heads all season long and they’ll likely take the Heisman Trophy into the CFP as well thanks to QB Joe Burrow. The only thing working against them is the fact that the No. 1 seed has never won the College Football Playoff.

[CFP]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Editorial Strategy Director for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.