The college football playoff teams have been selected. As always, four teams have been chosen. These teams are chosen based off scoring, record, and toughness of schedule. This year’s number one seed is Alabama, the number two seed is Clemson, the number three seed is Notre Dame, and the number four seed is Oklahoma. All four teams have put together stellar seasons. Even though these teams are as good as they are, people still believe that better teams were left out. Some of these teams include Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and the University of Central Florida who are ranked five through eight in that order.

The number one seed, Alabama, was one of four undefeated teams, going 13-0. Alabama played four ranked teams this year, including Georgia. Previously number four ranked Georgia, now ranked number five in college football, was the closest game they played all year, winning 35-28 for the SEC championship. In two ranked games, Alabama shutout number three Louisiana State University, now ranked number 11, and number 16 Mississippi State, now ranked number 18. Alabama also beat number 22 Texas A&M, now ranked number 19, by a score of 45-23. Missouri was unranked when Alabama beat them 39-10, but are now ranked at number 23. Alabama didn’t just have a tough schedule, they killed all but one team on that schedule. They were a lock for the college football playoff.

Another 13-0 team comes in at the number two seed in Clemson. Only playing two ranked teams, number 17 Boston College and number 16 North Carolina State, during the year, who are now both unranked, can hurt them in the toughness of schedule category. However, Clemson played Syracuse and Texas A&M while those teams were unranked. Now Syracuse is number 20 and Texas A&M is number 19 in college football. Those games were Clemson’s closest, only beating Texas A&M by two and Syracuse by three. Clemson also beat Pittsburgh, 42-10, to capture the ACC championship. If Clemson had not gone undefeated and won the ACC, they very well could have given up their spot to an equally deserving team.

Coming in as the number three seed is Notre Dame. The 12-0 Fighting Irish deserve this spot after playing four ranked teams. Only two of those teams are ranked at the end of the season, number seven Michigan, ranked number 17 when played, and number 20 Syracuse, ranked number 12 when played. Both Stanford and Virginia Tech are now unranked, but were ranked number seven and number 24 in college football when played. One team Notre Dame played who was not ranked at the time, but now is, was Northwestern. Northwestern finished the season ranked number 22. The Notre Dame schedule was not as tough as Alabama’s, but tough enough to secure their spot with an undefeated season.

Oklahoma earned the number four seed with a record of 12-1. Their only loss came to number 19 University of Texas with a score of 48-45. However, in the Big 12 championship Oklahoma won 39-27 against Texas who was ranked at number 14. Texas ended the season as the 15th ranked team. Oklahoma also beat number 13 West Virginia who dropped three spots to the number 16 seed. The only unranked team they played that finished ranked was Iowa State. Iowa State finished ranked number 24. Oklahoma may not have been undefeated, but their schedule was tougher than Clemson’s and was good enough to get them the last slot for playoffs.

The biggest question many have is why the University of Central Florida (UCF) is not one of the four teams in. UCF was the fourth undefeated team in college football going 12-0 and winning the American Athletic Conference championship, finishing the season ranked number eight in college football. This is the second year UCF has been undefeated. In 2017 UCF also went 12-0, finishing the season ranked number 12. That season they were also not one of the four playoff teams. However, in 2017 they played only one ranked team, number 20 Memphis, and in 2018 they played number 24 ranked Cincinnati who ended up unranked at the end of the season. The toughness of schedule was a major factor in this decision. In both 2017 and 2018 UCF beat Memphis for the American Athletic Conference championship. In 2017, UCF played number seven Auburn in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. UCF shocked everyone and won the game 34-27 as the underdog. This year, UCF will be playing number 11 Louisiana State University in the Fiesta Bowl. They will be looking to make a statement and prove that they belong in the playoffs. Even though many people think UCF is a playoff team, their schedule has been too easy this season to be put in the playoffs.

The college football playoffs are always great games. This year will be one of the same with four great teams playing in them. Even though some teams may have been left out that may deserve a spot, the four teams chosen are the four best teams in college football.