The 2017–18 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

2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2017 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) in 2017. The regular season began on August 26, 2017, and end ...

. It was the fourth 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. The four teams to participate were No. 1 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 ...

, No. 2

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 ...

from the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

, and No. 3

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 ...

and No. 4

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 ...

, both 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 ...

. This was the first CFP to feature two teams from the same conference. The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at 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 ...

and

Rose Bowl Rose Bowl or Rosebowl may refer to: * Rose Bowl Game, an annual American college football game * Rose Bowl (stadium), Pasadena, California, site of the football game, and the home stadium of the UCLA Football team * Rose Bowl (cricket ground), West ...

on New Year's Day, part of the season's slate of bowl games. The Sugar Bowl semifinal, between Clemson and Alabama, was a rematch of the national championship games in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

; each team won one of those matchups. Their third game in three seasons was won by Alabama, 24–6. The second semifinal, played at the Rose Bowl, saw Georgia defeat Oklahoma by six points in double overtime; it was the first Rose Bowl Game to reach overtime. By virtue of their victories, Alabama and Georgia advanced to the national championship game, held on January 8, 2018 in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. It was the first national championship matchup between two teams from the same conference since the

2012 BCS National Championship Game The 2012 BCS National Championship Game (branded as the 2012 Allstate BCS National Championship Game for sponsorship reasons) was a postseason college football bowl game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the LSU Tigers, and determined the na ...

between

and

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

. In the championship game, Alabama defeated Georgia in overtime, 26–23, to win their second CFP national championship and their seventeenth national championship in school history. The three-game playoff recorded a viewership increase of 21% over the previous edition, with an average of 26.2 million viewers. The national championship game averaged 28.4 million, with a peak of 30.7 million, and marked a 13% year-over-year increase. This made it the second-most-watched cable broadcast in history behind the inaugural CFP national championship between

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 ...

and

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 ...

Bracket

Selection and teams

The 2017–18 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 Kirby Hocutt is the athletic director at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas and the Big 12 representative to the College Football Playoff committee. Additionally, Hocutt is the chairman of the NCAA Division I Football Recruiting Subcommitte ...

. Its other members were former

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 ...

head coach

Frank Beamer Franklin Mitchell Beamer (born October 18, 1946) is an American former college football player and coach, most notably for the Virginia Tech Hokies football, Virginia Tech Hokies. Beamer was a cornerback, defensive cornerback for Virginia Tec ...

, former

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bac ...

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 Herb Deromedi (born May 26, 1939) is a retired American football coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Central Michigan University from 1978 to 1993, compiling a record of 110–55–10. His 110 wins r ...

Robert Morris University Robert Morris University (RMU) is a private university in Moon Township, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1921 and is named after Robert Morris (financier), Robert Morris, known as the "financier of the American Revolution". It enr ...

president Christopher B. Howard, 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 Robert Alan Johnson (born February 8, 1951) is a retired American football coach and former player. He was most recently the head football coach at Vanderbilt University, a position he held from the 2002 season until his retirement in 2010. In ...

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,

athletic director

Rob Mullens Rob Mullens is the current athletic director at the University of Oregon. He has presided over the most successful period in Oregon history, dubbed by some as the "Decade of the Duck." He was hired on July 15, 2010 from Kentucky where he was the ...

, Clemson athletic director

Dan Radakovich Dan Radakovich (born June 9, 1958) is the athletic director of the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. Prior to his appointment at the University of Miami, Radakovich previously served as the athletic director at American Universit ...

athletic director Gene Smith, 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 2017 season's first CFP rankings were released on October 31, with four conferences represented in the top six: No. 1

and No. 2

from the

(SEC), No. 3 Notre Dame, an FBS independent, No. 4 Clemson from the

(ACC), No. 5

from the

, and No. 6

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 ...

. Two upsets in the Big Ten on the following Saturday,

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 ...

over No. 6 Ohio State and No. 24

Michigan State Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the ...

over No. 7

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 ...

, allowed

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

to jump from No. 8 to No. 6 in the second rankings release, while the top five remained steady. Georgia fell from No. 1 the following week after a loss to No. 10 Auburn; a "dominant win" by No. 7 Miami (FL) over No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 5 Oklahoma's defeat of No. 6 TCU also contributed to a shakeup in the next edition of the rankings, which saw Alabama rise to No. 1, Clemson and Miami jump to No. 2 and No. 3, and

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 ...

and Auburn enter the top six at Nos. 5 and 6. Miami rose to No. 2 the following week, swapping spots with Clemson, in the only changes within the top six. This was not the case during the final week of the regular season, as the Hurricanes were upset by

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 ...

, marking their first loss and, according to the '' Port Charlotte Sun'', ending their "dream season". The following day, No. 6 Auburn defeated No. 1 Alabama in the

Iron Bowl The Alabama–Auburn football rivalry, better known as the Iron Bowl, is an American college football rivalry game between the University of Alabama Crimson Tide and the Auburn University Tigers, both charter members of the Southeastern Conf ...

to win the SEC West Division title, and a win by No. 21

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

over No. 8 Notre Dame similarly gave them a berth to their respective conference championship. Clemson moved to No. 1 the following week, with Auburn jumping to become the new No. 2 team. The following weekend saw each conference play their respective championship game. No. 10

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 * ...

was first to win, beating No. 12 Stanford in the Pac-12 Championship. No. 1 Clemson's 35-point

ACC Championship The ACC Championship was a cancelled two-day cricket tournament run by the Asian Cricket Council that is contested between its members nations. The first tournament was scheduled to be held in December 2014. It was canceled due to the busy pre ...

victory over No. 7 Miami all but guaranteed them a playoff bid, and similar reactions resulted from No. 3 Oklahoma's win over No. 11 TCU in the Big 12 Championship. Both Clemson and Oklahoma's wins marked their third consecutive conference championships. Meanwhile, No. 6 Georgia claimed the SEC title in a rematch with No. 2 Auburn—the first rematch in series history—and No. 8 Ohio State upset No. 4 Wisconsin for the Big Ten crown. The final CFP rankings, and the resulting four-team playoff field, were revealed on December 3. Clemson remained at No. 1 and were joined in the top four by fellow conference champions No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia. The No. 4 spot was awarded to Alabama, marking the first time two teams from the same conference were selected to participate in the playoff. With only three of the

Power Five conferences The power conferences are the most prominent athletic conferences in college football in the United States. They are part of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I, the highest level o ...

represented, it was the first playoff without a representative from the Big Ten and the second without a Pac-12 participant. Alabama's inclusion over Ohio State, who was ranked No. 5, generated criticism from some, including Dan Wolken of ''

'', who said that Ohio State had been punished for its more difficult early-season non-conference schedule and that Alabama had seemingly been rewarded for their reputation and their loss to Auburn, meaning they did not have to risk a loss in the SEC Championship. The Buckeyes were paired with No. 8 USC in the

Cotton Bowl Classic The Cotton Bowl Classic (also known as the Cotton Bowl) is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex since January 1, 1937. The game was originally played at its Cotton Bowl (stadium), namesake ...

, while No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 10 Miami were assigned to 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 ...

. Additionally, No. 9 Penn State and No. 11

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 ...

were assigned to the

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 ...

, and No. 7 Auburn was matched with No. 12 UCF in 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 ...

. Key:

Playoff games

Semifinals

Rose Bowl

The 2018 Rose Bowl Game marked the first meeting between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Georgia, and the second Rose Bowl appearance in each school's respective history (Oklahoma in

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

and Georgia in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 � ...

). Six of the game's first eight drives resulted in scores, with Rodney Anderson and

Marquise Brown Marquise "Hollywood" Brown (born June 4, 1997) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at College of the Canyons before transferring to the O ...

scoring touchdowns for the Sooners and

Sony Michel Sony Michel (born February 17, 1995) is an American former professional American football, football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Ge ...

doing the same for the Bulldogs. After an

Austin Seibert Austin Mitchell Seibert (born November 15, 1996) is an American professional football placekicker. He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners, where he was named the 2018 Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year, and was selected by the ...

field goal extended Oklahoma's lead to ten points with under ten minutes remaining in the second quarter, three punts followed before Oklahoma scored again on a pass from

Baker Mayfield Baker Reagan Mayfield (born April 14, 1995) is an American professional football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Oklahoma Sooners ...

CeeDee Lamb Cedarian DeLeon "CeeDee" Lamb (born April 8, 1999) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oklahoma Sooners football, ...

. Oklahoma led 31–17 at halftime, but touchdowns by Michel and

Nick Chubb Nicholas Jamaal Chubb (born December 27, 1995) is an American professional football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Cleveland ...

tied the game as it entered the fourth quarter. Each team scored twice in the fourth quarter, including a 46-yard fumble return by Oklahoma's Steven Parker, before regulation ended with the teams tied at 45. Each team scored a field goal in overtime before Georgia clinched a victory on a 27-yard touchdown rush by Michel. It was the highest-scoring game in Rose Bowl history, and the first Rose Bowl or CFP game to reach

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) ...

Sugar Bowl

The Sugar Bowl semifinal matched No. 1 Clemson and No. 4 Alabama in a rematch of the

and

national championship games. The Crimson Tide scored the game's first ten points, and led 10–3 at halftime following a field goal by Alex Spence. A fumble by Alabama quarterback

Jalen Hurts Jalen Alexander Hurts (born August 7, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). Hurts began his college football career with the Alabama Crims ...

early in the third quarter gave possession to Clemson on the Alabama 20-yard line, and the Tigers ultimately added another field goal as a result. Later in the quarter, Alabama's Da'Ron Payne intercepted Kelly Bryant and set the Crimson Tide up to score on a touchdown pass, which he caught, several plays later. On Clemson's next offensive play, Bryant was intercepted again, this time by Mack Wilson for a touchdown, Alabama's second in thirteen seconds of game time. Those touchdowns were the game's final scoring plays; starting with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter, each team punted on their next three possessions. Clemson's final drive began with seven minutes left in the game and spanned 75 yards in 18 plays before Bryant's incomplete pass on 4th & Goal from the Alabama 5-yard line sealed the Crimson Tide's victory.

Championship game

Georgia and Alabama's playoff wins set them up to meet in the national championship game, the first to be contested by teams from the same conference since

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. After a scoreless first quarter, Georgia took a 13–0 lead into halftime with two

Rodrigo Blankenship Rodrigo John Blankenship (born January 29, 1997), nicknamed "Hot Rod", is an American professional football placekicker for the St. Louis Battlehawks of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, w ...

field goals and a

Mecole Hardman Carey Mecole Hardman (born March 12, 1998) is an American professional American football, football wide receiver and return specialist for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bu ...

touchdown rush, the latter on Georgia's last offensive snap of the half. Alabama head coach

Nick Saban Nicholas Lou Saban Jr. ( ; born October 31, 1951) is an American sportscaster and former Professional gridiron football, professional and college football coach. He serves as an analyst for ESPN's ''College GameDay (football TV program), Colleg ...

opted to change quarterbacks to begin the second half, from starter

to backup

Tua Tagovailoa Tuanigamanuolepola Donny Tagovailoa ( ; born March 2, 1998) is an American professional American football, football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide ...

, and the Tide broke their scoring drought with a touchdown pass to

Henry Ruggs Henry James Ruggs III (born January 24, 1999) is an American former professional football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for two seasons with the Las Vegas Raiders. He played college football for the Alabama Crims ...

on their second drive of the second half. Georgia responded with a touchdown pass of their own, from

Jake Fromm William Jacob Fromm (born July 30, 1998) is an American professional football quarterback. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs and was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2020 NFL draft. Fromm has also been ...

to Hardman, and the teams traded

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s on each of their next drives. Alabama ended regulation having scored 13 unanswered points to tie the game at 20 points apiece following an unsuccessful field goal attempt as time expired. Georgia took possession to start overtime and finished their series with a 51-yard field goal by Blankenship, giving them a three-point lead. Bulldogs defensive linemen Jonathan Ledbetter and

Davin Bellamy Davin Jamaurie Bellamy (born December 27, 1994) is an American professional football defensive end for the DC Defenders of the United Football League (UFL). He played college football at Georgia. He signed with the Houston Texans after going und ...

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ed Tagovailoa on Alabama's first snap of overtime before Tagovailoa passed to

DeVonta Smith DeVonta Smith ( ; born November 14, 1998) is an American professional football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide, where he recorded over 1,800 ...

for a 41-yard walk-off touchdown, winning Alabama the title.

Aftermath

Alabama improved to a final record of 13–1 with their national championship victory, the fifth for Saban at Alabama and his sixth all-time. It was Alabama's second national championship of the CFP era—they defeated Clemson in the

2016 College Football Playoff National Championship The 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship was a college football bowl game played on January 11, 2016, at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The second College Football Playoff National Championship, the game d ...

—and their seventeenth claimed national title in school history. The national championship saw viewership increase by 13% across its ''MegaCast'' coverage on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

ESPN2 ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%). ESPN2 was initially ...

, and

ESPNU ESPNU is an American multinational digital cable and satellite sports television channel owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between the Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remain ...

combined, with an average of 28.4 million viewers and a peak of 30.7 million. The playoff as a whole saw a viewership increase of 21% over the previous year with an average of 26.2 million viewers. It was the second-most-watched cable broadcast ever, second only to the inaugural CFP national championship.

References

{{College Football Playoff navbox