Alabama has made College Football Playoff history.
The Crimson Tide ranked No. 4 in the committee's latest rankings, earning their fourth consecutive berth in the playoff and making the SEC the first conference to put two teams in the playoff. They will likely play No. 1 Clemson in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, while No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia face off in the Rose Bowl.
MORE: 2017-18 playoff rankings, bowl tracker
The final argument came down to No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Ohio State for the final spot: Would the Buckeyes' better wins and conference championship overshadow their bad loss to Iowa, Alabama's 11-1 record and the fact it didn't even play for the SEC championship?
In the end, playoff committee chairman Kirby Hocutt said Ohio State's two losses, including a 31-point loss to 7-5 Iowa, ended up costing it a playoff berth despite its 27-21 win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship.
"We don't look at conference affiliation," Hocutt said on ESPN's selection show. "We look at the four very best teams. Conference championships are important. ... Fourteen of the 16 (playoff) teams have been conference champions. But we have the flexibility and the discretion to put the non-champions into the top four.
"Alabama clearly was the No.4-ranked team as a non-champion."
