In a week that did not feature much in the way of upsets or drama Alabama, Clemson, Oklahoma and Michigan State were selected for the College Football Playoffs. Headed into the Pac-12 Conference Championship game against USC Stanford needed a win and some help. The Cardinal of course took care of their business in Levi's Stadium by winning the Pac-12 yet again. The upsets however, never came.
Stanford would have needed upsets from either (maybe both) North Carolina over Clemson in the ACC Championship game or Florida over Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. Neither upset occurred killing Stanford's long-shot playoff bid. It would have been nice to see Stanford compete with any of these four teams in the Playoffs, David Shaw and the Cardinal, however, completed their objective of winning the Pac-12 this year.
Number 1 Clemson and number 4 Oklahoma will play on December 31st in the Orange Bowl. Number 2 Alabama and number 3 Michigan State will compete the same day in the Cotton Bowl. The National Championship will be decided Monday, January 11th at 5:30pm P.T. on ESPN.
