On January 1^st, 2015, the inaugural College Football Playoff took the country by storm, setting record breaking views as people tuned in to watch a part of history.

This past year, the College Football Committee decided to end a debate that had been going on for many years. Before, the champion was decided by one championship game between the two best teams in the nation. This was very controversial as many felt like they have been left out from the championship game. Some coaches argued it is not fair to have one week decide a whole season for a team, as many teams felt like if they lost only once during the season they would be left out of the championship game. So the committee decided to end this debate and integrate a 4-team playoff. After each week the College Football Playoff Committee would rank each team after their performance, using a very complicated formula (win/lose, strength of schedule, scenarios in game, etc.) and give the nation a new top-25 each week. After the conference championship games in early December, the committee would calculate their final rankings and the top four teams would make the playoff. The top team could pick one of two bowls to play in against the fourth ranked team, and the second ranked team would play in the remaining bowl against the third ranked team. Simple enough, right? Wrong. Still many teams felt as if they had been left out from another chance to win a title. Baylor took this to another level by hiring a lawyer to draw up all the reasons why they should be in the playoff. While this did not work, it opened another window for many teams and another level of excitement to College Football. Truth is, no matter how many teams are in a playoff, there will always be another team saying they deserve a spot in the playoff.

After all of the drama stirred up after Week 14, it was time to watch the inaugural College Football Playoff. The Playoff Committee selected Alabama at number 1, Oregon at 2, Florida State at 3, and Ohio State at 4. Oregon and Florida State kicked off the Playoff with a 5:00 p.m. kickoff at the rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. Oregon dominated on offense and swarmed Florida State defensively, causing 5 turnovers. After that game, viewers switched over to watch Alabama and Ohio State play at the Sugar Bowl. Alabama started off quick jumping out to a 3 possession lead but Ohio State was able to battle back with their 3^rd string quarterback manning the offense. Ohio State and Oregon had about a 2 week break before battling it out in Dallas for the first ever College Football Playoff trophy. On Monday, January 12^th, Ohio State took home the National Championship after defeating Oregon 42-20.

Despite several teams and fans arguing on behalf of their teams, the first ever College Football Playoff was a success and the face of college football for many years to come.