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COLLEGE FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

Penn State odd team out as college football sets playoffs

Nick Saban and Alabama will be vying for a fifth national championship in eight seasons.KEVIN C. COX/Getty Images

In the end, true chaos never came to college football this season. Four teams that started near the top of the College Football Playoff rankings will play for the national championship.

Alabama will face Washington in one semifinal and Clemson will meet Ohio State in the other. None of them were ranked any lower than sixth since the selection committee started ranking teams in early November.

Even after a wild finish to championship Saturday, selection Sunday went pretty much as expected.

The committee stayed with the same top four it picked going into championship weekend, leaving out No. 5 Penn State, even though the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten title game and beat Ohio State earlier in the season.

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The Buckeyes (11-1) are the first team to reach the playoff in its three-year history without winning their conference.

The unbeaten Crimson Tide (13-0) are in the playoff for the third straight season and are the top seed for the second time. They will play the fourth-ranked Huskies (12-1) in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta Dec. 31. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m.

Alabama has played Washington four times previously, twice in bowls and not since 1986.

Huskies fans were holding up signs at games late in the season, proclaiming, ‘‘We want Bama.’’

‘‘Sometimes you’ve got to be careful what you wish for,’’ Washington coach Chris Petersen said on ESPN. ‘‘I didn’t hold up that sign.’’

Nick Saban and Alabama will be trying to win their fifth national championship in eight seasons, and second straight.

Washington’s last national title came in 1991, when the Huskies were No. 1 in the final coaches’ poll.

Petersen, the former Boise State coach in his third season with Washington, has never faced Saban and said he does not know him well.

‘‘I feel like I know him, I see him on TV so much,’’ Petersen said.

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No. 3 Ohio State is making its second playoff appearance and No. 2 Clemson (12-1) is in for the second consecutive season. The Buckeyes and Tigers will meet at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on Dec. 31. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.

Ohio State won the first College Football Playoff after the 2014 season and Clemson lost to Alabama in last season’s championship game.

Ohio State and Clemson have played twice before, both in bowl games. The last time was after the 2013 season.

The one difference from last week’s top four and the final one was Clemson and Ohio State switched spots. So the Tigers will wear the home jerseys in University of Phoenix Stadium instead of the Buckeyes.

Selection committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said the decision came down not to Penn State and Ohio State, but the Nittany Lions (11-2) and Pac-12 champion Washington.

The Huskies’ only loss was to Southern California and its nonconference schedule featured FCS Portland State, Rutgers, and Idaho. Penn State played Pittsburgh, Temple, and Kent State in nonconference and lost to the Panthers. The Nittany Lions also were beaten by 39 at Michigan in their last loss.

Penn State finished the season on a nine-game winning streak to make a strong closing statement.

‘‘Had Washington had a stronger strength of schedule I do not think that conversation would have been as difficult,’’ said Hocutt, who is also the Texas Tech athletic director.

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The selection protocol does not require the committee to pick conference champions or the winner of head-to-head matchups.

‘‘You can make arguments for and against so many teams,’’ Penn State coach James Franklin said on ESPN, adding his team was appreciative of the Rose Bowl bid it will receive.

The rest of the New Year’s Six bowls were also announced:

Florida State (9-3) will play Michigan (10-2) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30; Southern Cal (9-3) will play Penn State in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2; Auburn (8-4) will play Oklahoma (10-2) in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 2; and Western Michigan (13-0) will play Wisconsin (10-3) in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 2.

Tuberville resigns

Tommy Tuberville resigned as Cincinnati’s coach after his first losing season in four years with the Bearcats. Cincinnati ended the season with five straight losses and a 4-8 record, missing out on a bowl appearance for the first time in Tuberville’s tenure. Before the season, the Bearcats gave Tuberville a two-year extension that took him through 2019 . . . Sophomore Lorenzo Nunez will be transferring from South Carolina so he can be a starting quarterback again . . . Alabama linebacker Reuben Foster won the Butkus Award as the nation’s top linebacker — with the bronze trophy presented by Butkus at the Crimson Tide’s team banquet. Foster leads the top-ranked Tide with 94 tackles, including 12 for a loss and four sacks. Alabama leads the nation in total, scoring, and run defense. Vanderbilt’s Zach Cunningham was the runner-up followed by Florida’s Jarrad Davis, LSU’s Kendall Beckwith, and Iowa’s Josey Jewell.

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BowlMatchupSiteDateTimeTV
New Mexico BowlNew Mexico vs. UTSAAlbuquerqueDec. 172 p.m.ESPN
Las Vegas BowlSan Diego St. vs. HoustonLas VegasDec. 173:30 p.m.ABC
Camellia BowlToledo vs. Appalachian St.,Dec. 175:30 p.m.ESPN
Cure BowlArkansas St. vs. UCFOrlandoDec. 175:30 p.m.CBS Sports Network
New Orleans BowlLa.-Lafayette vs. Southern MissNew OrleansDec. 179 p.m.ESPN
Miami Beach BowlTulsa vs. Central Mich.,Dec. 192:30 p.m.ESPN
Boca Raton BowlWestern Ky. vs. MemphisBoca Raton, Fla.Dec. 207 p.m.ESPN
Poinsettia BowlWyoming vs. BYUSan DiegoDec. 219 p.m.ESPN
Idaho Potato BowlColorado St. vs. IdahoBoise, IdahoDec. 227 p.m.ESPN
Popeyes Bahamas BowlOld Dominion vs. E. MichiganNassau,Dec. 231 p.m.ESPN
Armed Forces BowlNavy vs. Louisiana TechFort WorthDec. 234:30 p.m.ESPN
Dollar General BowlTroy vs. OhioMobile, Ala.Dec. 238 p.m.ESPN
Hawaii BowlHawaii vs. Middle Tenn.HonoluluDec. 248 p.m.ESPN
St. Petersburg BowlMississippi St. vs. Miami (Ohio),Dec. 2611 a.m.ESPN
Quick Lane BowlBoston College vs. MarylandDetroitDec. 262:30 p.m.ESPN
Independence BowlVanderbilt vs. N.C. State,Dec. 265 p.m.ESPN2
Heart of Dallas BowlNorth Texas vs. ArmyDallasDec. 2712 p.m.ESPN
Military BowlWake Forest vs. TempleAnnapolis, Md.Dec. 273:30 p.m.ESPN
Holiday BowlWashington St. vs. MinnesotaSan DiegoDec. 277 p.m.ESPN
Pinstripe BowlNorthwestern vs. PittsburghBronx, N.Y.Dec. 282 p.m.ESPN
Russell Athletic BowlMiami vs. West VirginiaOrlandoDec. 285:30 p.m.ESPN
Foster Farms BowlUtah vs. IndianaSanta Clara, Calif.Dec. 288:30 p.m.Fox
Advocare V100 Texas BowlKansas St. vs. Texas A&MHoustonDec. 289 p.m.ESPN
Birmingham BowlSouth Carolina vs. South FloridaBirmingham, Ala.Dec. 292 p.m.ESPN
Belk BowlVirginia Tech vs. Arkansas,Dec. 295:30 p.m.ESPN
Alamo BowlColorado vs. Oklahoma St.San AntonioDec. 299 p.m.ESPN
Liberty BowlTCU vs. GeorgiaMemphisDec. 3012 p.m.ESPN
Sun BowlNorth Carolina vs. StanfordEl PasoDec. 302 p.m.CBS
Music City BowlTennessee vs. NebraskaNashvilleDec. 303:30 p.m.ESPN
Arizona BowlAir Force vs. South AlabamaTucsonDec. 305:30 p.m.Campus Insiders
Orange BowlFlorida St. vs. MichiganMiami Gardens, Fla.Dec. 308 p.m.
Citrus BowlLouisville vs. LSUOrlandoDec. 3111 a.m.ABC
Taxslayer BowlKentucky vs. Georgia TechJacksonville, Fla.Dec. 3111 a.m.ESPN
Chick-fil-A Peach BowlAlabama vs. WashingtonAtlantaDec. 313 p.m.ESPN
Fiesta BowlClemson vs. Ohio StateGlendale, Ariz.Dec. 317 p.m.ESPN
Cotton BowlWisconsin vs. W. MichiganArlington, TexasJan. 21 p.m.ESPN
Outback BowlIowa vs. FloridaTampaJan. 21 p.m.ABC
Rose BowlPenn State vs. USCPasadena, Calif.Jan. 25 p.m.ESPN
Sugar BowlOklahoma vs. AuburnNew OrleansJan. 28:30 p.m.ESPN
CFP ChampionshipTeams TBATampaJan. 98 p.m.ESPN