2014–15 College Football Playoff

The 2014–15 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the inaugural edition of the College Football Playoff (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. Each participating team was the champion of its respective conference: No. 1 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference, No. 2 Oregon from the Pac-12 Conference, No. 3 Florida State from the Atlantic Coast Conference, and No. 4 Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference.

The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day, part of the season's slate of bowl games. In the Rose Bowl semifinal, Oregon defeated Florida State by a margin of thirty-nine points. The second semifinal, at the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State upset Alabama by seven. As a result of their victories, Ohio State and Oregon faced each other in the national championship game, held on January 12 in Arlington, Texas. In that game, Ohio State defeated Oregon, 42–20, to win the first CFP national championship and their eighth national championship in school history.

Selection and teams
The inaugural CFP selection committee was announced on October 16, 2013, with Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long as the chairman. Its other members were former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne, former quarterback Archie Manning, former United States secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, former United States Air Force Academy superintendent Michael C. Gould, USC athletic director Pat Haden, former NCAA executive vice president Tom Jernstedt, West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck, Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich, former USA Today reporter Steve Wieberg, and former college head coach Tyrone Willingham. Key: