Last season, a new playoff system was introduced featuring the top 4 teams chosen by a committee in order to determine who will win the national championship. Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State were the four chosen to play in the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship of 2015. Ohio State, the 4^th seeded team in the tournament, shocked the world by beating the first seeded Alabama, and then continued their run but defeating Oregon in the championship game to become the first ever champions in this new era of college football.

After an exciting and hard fought season, another group of teams have been selected to play in the 2016 edition of the College Football playoffs. Although it has a lot to live up to, this years playoff bracket looks to be just as exciting as last years. The teams featured this year are Clemson University, University of Alabama, Michigan State University, and University of Oklahoma.

Clemson, led by star quarterback Deshaun Watson, unexpectedly cruised through a tough schedule to finish with a perfect record and claim the top seed in the tournament. They will play 4th seeded Oklahoma in the opening round. The Sooners of Oklahoma started the season ranked 19^th in the top 25 polls, and steadily worked their way up throughout the season. They capped off a great regular season by finishing the year 11-1, giving them the best record in the Big 12 conference. This should be a fantastic game, as both teams feature top quarterbacks. With Clemson boasting Deshaun Watson and Oklahoma riding the arm of sudden superstar Baker Mayfield, expect this game to be a high scoring offensive shootout that will be very fun to watch.

Prediction: Clemson Tigers

The other game between the second and third seeds respectively, is the Crimson Tide of Alabama going up against the Spartans of Michigan State. Alabama, who many consider the most complete team of the four in the tournament, are looking to avenge last year’s upset loss to Ohio State, who went on to win the national championship. Alabama will be lead by their record-breaking running back Derrick Henry, who broke the SEC conference record for most rushing yards in a season and won the prestigious Heisman Trophy. While Henry may seem unstoppable, he will have his work cut out for him in this game. He will face a Michigan State defense that is known to be very physical and gritty. Their tough defense that is nearly impossible to score on, perfectly compliments their high scoring pass friendly offense led by standout quarterback Conner Cook. This game should be blue collar, as both teams will be relying on their top defenses to shut down the other’s high-powered offense. Whichever team can win the battle on the defensive side of the ball will come out with the victory.

Prediction: Michigan State Spartans

With the semi-final games being played on December 31^st and the national championship being played on January 11^th, the long awaited 2^nd annual College Football Playoff is quickly approaching. Before you know it, our questions will be answered, and one of the four teams will be going home with the hardware. All of these teams have had great seasons and are definitely worthy to be in the post-season. Whether or not your favorite team is playing or not, the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship is going to be something you are NOT going to want to miss.

National Champion: Michigan State Spartans