Alabama, Clemson, Notre Dame and Oklahoma to clash in College Football Playoff

It's going to be the Oklahoma Sooners, the 13-member selection committee in Grapevine, Texas, announced Sunday.

Alabama and Oklahoma will face off in one semifinal match, while Clemson and Notre Dame will play in the other. The semifinalists will square off in the Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl, but it was not immediately clear who will play in which game.

Both bowls are scheduled for December 29, and the winners will play in the January 8 championship in Santa Clara, California.

Alabama, No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Notre Dame finished the season undefeated. The Tide and Tigers capped their perfect seasons with conference championships Saturday, while the Irish are independent and finished their perfect season the previous week with a 24-17 victory over the University of Southern California.

The Sooners finished a one-loss season with a 39-27 season over Texas, the only team that beat them during the regular season, in the Big 12 Championship.

Georgia will head into bowl season as the fifth-ranked team, and Ohio State will finish the regular season at No. 6.

The longshot University of Central Florida Golden Knights, who do not play in the Power Five, also won their conference championship to close out a second-straight undefeated season but were shut out of the playoff.

The selections were announced the day after two of the top four teams in the nation treated audiences to a barn-burner in Atlanta.

Prior to Saturday's game, the Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 4 in the country. They took on the top-ranked Crimson Tide, whose closest game all season was a 22-point victory over Texas A&M in September.

The Bulldogs not only played Alabama tight, but with a 14-point lead in the third quarter, seemed to have finally vanquished the Tide, which had won the previous four games against its rivals to the east.

Backup Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts had a comeback in mind, however. Filling in for Tua Tagovailoa, who sprained his ankle in the second half, Hurts led his team to 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

The Bulldogs also did their part to help Bama. With the game tied and the ball at midfield with 3 minutes left, Georgia could've punted the ball and pinned the Tide deep. All night, its defense had performed well against the beastly Alabama attack.

Instead, Georgia opted for a fake punt, which the Dawgs botched, handing Alabama the ball with primo field position and plenty of time on the clock. Hurts did the rest, capping the game-winning drive with a 16-yard quarterback sneak.

It could be argued that Georgia still deserved to be in the playoff, given they were the only team to put up a scrap against Bama. But it was always going to be difficult for Georgia to get into the playoff without an SEC Championship win.

Making matters more difficult for Georgia, the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners and No. 6 Ohio State -- both of whom have one loss -- won their conference championships by double digits. Ohio State was stomped by Purdue midseason, however.

By falling to Alabama, Georgia recorded its second loss, making it tough for the selection committee to include the Dawgs over teams with one loss and championships in a Power Five conference. The LSU Tigers beat the Bulldogs by 20 in October.

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