The 2016–17 College Football Playoff was a

single-elimination A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the

2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 26, 2016, and ended on De ...

. It was the third edition of the

College Football Playoff The College Football Playoff (CFP) is an annual single-elimination tournament, knockout invitational tournament to determine a national champion for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, D ...

(CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals, with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. Three of the four teams were conference champions: No. 1

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

from the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

, No. 2 Clemson from the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

, and No. 4

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

from the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. No. 3

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

, from the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

, finished second in their division on a head-to-head tiebreaker with

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

, who went on to win the conference championship. The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the

Peach Bowl The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968. The first three Peach Bowls were played at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Grant Field on the Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia Tech c ...

and

Fiesta Bowl The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971. From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has be ...

on New Year's Eve, part of the season's slate of bowl games. In the Peach Bowl semifinal, Alabama defeated Washington, 24–7. The Fiesta Bowl semifinal saw Clemson

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

Ohio State, 31–0. As a result of their victories, Clemson and Alabama faced each other in the national championship game, a rematch of the previous season's championship game, held on January 9 in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. Clemson won the rematch by a four-point margin to claim their first championship of the CFP era and their second national championship in school history, the first since

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

. The three playoff games earned an average

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...

of 12.7, with the championship scoring 15.4, a four percent upgrade from the previous edition. The playoff saw an increase in average audience and unique viewership with an average of 22.23 million viewers and a peak of 26.03 million. The championship became the eighth-most-watched cable broadcast in history and the most-viewed since the last national championship game.

Bracket

Selection and teams

The 2016–17 CFP selection committee was chaired by

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas, United States. Established on February 10, 1923, and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the flagship institution of the five- ...

athletic director Kirby Hocutt. Its other members were

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

athletic director

Barry Alvarez Barry Lee Alvarez (born December 30, 1946) is an American former college football coach and athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compili ...

, former Southern Miss head coach Jeff Bower, former

Central Michigan Central Michigan, also called Mid Michigan, is a region in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower Peninsula of the United States, U.S. state of Michigan. As its name implies, it is the middle area of the Lower Peninsula. Lower Michigan is said t ...

athletic director Herb Deromedi, former

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

executive vice president Tom Jernstedt, former head coach Bobby Johnson,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

athletic director and former CFP selection committee chairman Jeff Long,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

athletic director Rob Mullens, Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich, former

United States secretary of state The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the ...

Condoleezza Rice Condoleezza "Condi" Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist serving since 2020 as the 8th director of Stanford University's Hoover Institution. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served ...

, former

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reporter Steve Wieberg, and former college head coach

Tyrone Willingham Lionel Tyrone Willingham (born December 30, 1953) is a former American football player and coach. He was the head coach at Stanford University (1995–2001), the University of Notre Dame (2002–2004), and the University of Washington (2005–2 ...

. The first CFP poll of the season was released on November 1, 2016, with four conferences represented in the top six: No. 1

and No. 4

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

from the

(SEC), No. 2 Clemson from the

(ACC), No. 3

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and No. 6

from the

, and No. 5

from the

. Texas A&M, ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll at the time, surprised some with their inclusion in the top four, though they dropped out after their upset loss to

Mississippi State Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university in Mississippi State, Mississippi, United States. It is classified among "R ...

the following week.

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

replaced the Aggies at No. 6 in the November 8 rankings. According to '' The Oxford Eagle'', the following weekend's games contained "a lot of losing": No. 2 Clemson fell to

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, No. 3 Michigan lost to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

, and No. 4 Washington was defeated by No. 20

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. Further down the top ten, No. 8 Texas A&M suffered a loss to

Ole Miss OLE, Ole or Olé may refer to: * Olé, a cheering expression used in Spain * Ole (name), a male given name, includes a list of people named Ole * Overhead lines equipment, used to transmit electrical energy to trams, trolleybuses or trains Co ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

upset No. 9 Auburn on the same day. As a result, Clemson fell to No. 4 and Washington to No. 6, while Ohio State jumped to No. 2 and Louisville rose one spot to No. 5. Louisville, following an upset loss to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, then fell out of the top six, and were replaced by

. The regular season's final week saw Michigan drop from No. 3 to No. 5 following a double-

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

loss at No. 2 Ohio State. The following week saw most conferences host their championship games. On December 2, No. 4 Washington defeated No. 8

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

to win the Pac-12 Championship, making them likely contenders for the playoff at 12–1. The following day, No. 1 Alabama's victory over No. 15

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the SEC Championship led the Associated Press to predict a No. 1 seed in the playoffs for the Crimson Tide, while No. 3 Clemson beat No. 23

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

by a touchdown to put themselves in prime position for the playoff as well. No. 7

, winners of a head-to-head tiebreaker in the Big Ten East Division over Ohio State, won the Big Ten Championship over No. 6 Wisconsin. In the final week of the Big 12's regular season, No. 9

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

clinched the conference title with a defeat of No. 10

Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...

. The final rankings, released on December 4, kept Alabama at No. 1 and elevated ACC champions Clemson to No. 2, with Ohio State at No. 3 and Washington staying at No. 4. Despite winning the Big Ten Championship, Penn State finished No. 5, one spot outside of the playoff, and was assigned to play No. 9 USC in the Rose Bowl. Michigan was ranked No. 6 and was chosen to face No. 11

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

in the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. Played annually since 1935 Orange Bowl, January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in ...

. Big 12 champions Oklahoma, ranked No. 7, were to play No. 14 Auburn in the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only ...

. Key:

Playoff games

Semifinals

Peach Bowl

The Peach Bowl semifinal paired No. 1 Alabama, defending national champions making their third consecutive CFP appearance, with No. 4 Washington, making their CFP debut. It was the fifth meeting between the teams and the first since the 1986 Sun Bowl. Washington opened the scoring with a touchdown pass from Jake Browning to Dante Pettis in the first quarter, and a touchdown rush by Bo Scarbrough three minutes later tied the score. Alabama took the lead on a field goal shortly into the second quarter and did not relinquish it, scoring two further touchdowns on an interception return by Ryan Anderson and another rush by Scarbrough, who won offensive

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. In all, ten of Alabama's twenty-four points came off of turnovers, and the interception return was their eleventh defensive touchdown of the season.

Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl semifinal matched No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State, who met for the third time and the first since the 2014 Orange Bowl. A 45-yard field goal by Clemson placekicker Greg Huegel was followed by a

Deshaun Watson Derrick Deshaun Watson (born September 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, leading the team to a national ...

rushing touchdown in the game's opening quarter, and Clemson scored a touchdown in each of the remaining three quarters—a reception by C.J. Fuller and rushes by Watson and

Wayne Gallman Wayne Gallman Jr. (born October 1, 1994) is an American professional football running back. He played college football for the Clemson Tigers and contributed to win the CFP national championship (2017) before being selected by the New York Giant ...

—to finish as Fiesta Bowl champions by a thirty-one point margin. Clemson head coach

Dabo Swinney William Christopher "Dabo" Swinney (; born November 20, 1969) is an American college football coach, currently serving as the head football coach at Clemson Tigers football, Clemson University. Swinney took over as head coach of the Clemson Tiger ...

praised the defense's performance, including that of

Clelin Ferrell Clelin Ferrell (born May 17, 1997) is an American professional football defensive end for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Clemson Tigers, winning the 2018 Ted Hendricks Award pr ...

, the game's defensive MVP, recorded three tackles for loss, including a

sack A sack usually refers to a rectangular-shaped bag. Sack may also refer to: Bags * Flour sack * Gunny sack * Hacky sack, sport * Money sack * Paper sack * Sleeping bag * Stuff sack * Knapsack Other uses * Bed, a slang term * Sack (band), ...

. Clemson's 31–0 win marked the first shutout loss for Ohio State head coach

Urban Meyer Urban Frank Meyer III (born July 10, 1964) is an American Sports commentator, sportscaster and former college football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green F ...

and the first such loss for the Buckeyes since 1993.

Championship game

A rematch of the National Championship Game a year prior, Alabama and Clemson met again to decide the national champion. Alabama was first to score on a touchdown rush by Bo Scarbrough after the Crimson Tide had gained possession following a turnover on downs by the Tigers. They doubled the lead on another Scarbrough rush in the second quarter, and the teams traded scores for the majority of the rest of the game. Clemson took their first lead with less than five minutes remaining on a 4-yard touchdown rush by Wayne Gallman. This was the first of three lead changes in the fourth quarter, the last of which came on a touchdown pass from Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second remaining. The Associated Press remarked that the game-winning two-yard strike was "one of the easiest throws atsonhad to make all night".

Aftermath

Clemson's win in the title game gave them their first national championship since

. The Tigers finished the season with a record of 14–1. The win marked Clemson's first against a No. 1-ranked team, and it ended Alabama's winning streak of twenty-six games. Swinney said after the conclusion of the national championship that it had been "one of the greatest games of all time". The national championship was the most-viewed cable telecast since the Alabama–Clemson championship the year prior, and it was the eighth-most-watched cable broadcast in history. The average viewership across the entire playoff was 22.23 million viewers, with the championship receiving a total viewership of 26.03 million. The championship's

of 15.4 represented a 4% year-over-year increase, and the game broke records for average audience and unique viewers. The three playoff games averaged a 12.7 rating and increases of at least 25% in streaming audience and unique viewers.

References

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