Sooners Get Nod For Final Playoff Spot

Faced with a tricky choice, the College Football Playoff selection committee fell back on some simple criteria for choosing the fourth and final team for its playoff: One loss is better than two. Winning a conference championship is better than not. Go with the team that didn’t get blown out. Oklahoma is in the playoff, after avenging its only loss by winning the Big 12 championship against Texas. The Sooners (12-1) will face No. 1 Alabama (13-0) in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 29 in a matchup of Heisman Trophy front-running quarterbacks — Kyler Murray of Oklahoma and the Tide’s Tua Tagovailoa. No. 2 Clemson (13-0) plays No. 3 Notre Dame (12-0) in the Cotton Bowl on the same day. The winners meet in the championship game on Jan. 7 in Santa Clara, Calif.