For years, the BCS system always had complaints about who deserved to be in the National Championship game, and who didn't. This however was changed last year with the invention of the college football playoff system. This would give us a champion without any more questions. Or would it? With this new system starting last year, the top four teams were supposed to be in the playoffs, and just now being in the second year of the new system, many people are having questions about who should be in the playoffs and who should be out? With the final decision in just a little over a week, here are the teams that I believe should be in the playoffs.
Starting out, there have been a couple teams that deserve to be in with no problems at all. The first of which are the Clemson Tigers. Clemson has not had the hardest schedule to stay undefeated, but they have had a big win over Notre Dame at home in early October. Besides Notre Dame, Clemson has dominated almost every team that they have played and are on their way to winning the ACC title and the overall number one seed in the playoffs.
The second team that deserves to be in the playoffs with no debate is the Crismon Tide of Alabama. Besides a hiccup earlier this year against Ole Miss, Alabama has ran through the SEC and is looking to take home another National Championship under Nick Saban. Standing in Alabama's way will be Auburn as well as a tough game against Florida in the SEC Championship game.
From there is when things start getting a little tougher to decide. There are two Big Ten teams, with one being Michigan State who has had a tough schedule with a bad loss at Nebraska and a big win over the defending National Champions Ohio State Buckeyes. The other is the Iowa Hawkeyes, who have pretty much walked their way to an undefeated season, but have two tough games remaining against Nebraska and in the Big Ten Championship where they will play Michigan State. From there, I believe that the next team in the playoffs will be the winner of that game. Both teams have had remarkable years and the winner of that game deserves to be in the championship.
For the final spot is where things get even more tough. In my mind, there are only two teams who could take the final spot. As of right now, I believe that Oklahoma most likely deserves it the most with big wins over TCU and Baylor. The deciding factor though will be if they will be able to beat the another tough team in Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma. OSU will provide a tough defense and even a tougher atmosphere if Oklahoma looks to make their way to the college football playoffs. The other team that they will be fighting with is the Notre Dam Fighting Irish for the final spot. Notre Dame has played a decently tough schedule and has wins over ranked teams such as USC and Navy, and has one more tough game on the road at Stanford who is in the top ten. I believe that If Notre Dame takes care of business and wins all of their remaining games, it still may not be enough to top the Sooners.
With that I believe that the final four teams will be in the order of Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma. Shall any of these teams lose, it will be anybodys guess on who can make the final four.
