College Football Playoff: Alabama top seed; Washington gets last spot

Despite having a nonconference schedule ranked 127 out of 128, Pac-12 champion Washington earned its way into the College Football Playoff championship.

The CFP committee awarded the Huskies the fourth and final spot on Sunday over Big Ten champion Penn State, which was ranked fifth.

Alabama was ranked No. 1, to no one's surprise.

Clemson, which defeated Virginia Tech for the ACC championship was ranked No. 2.

Ohio State, which lost to Penn State 24-21, was ranked third. The Buckeyes have three Top 10 wins and went on the road to beat Oklahoma.

The No. 1 Crimson Tide will face the No. 4 Huskies in the Peach Bowl and the No. 2 Tigers will meet the No. 3 Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 31. The semifinal winners will meet for the national title Jan. 9 in Tampa, Fla.

Penn State won the Big Ten East to earn a spot in the conference title game against Wisconsin. The Nittany Lions suffered two losses, one a 39-point loss to Michigan and to Pittsburgh.

"(Washington's) strength of schedule has been a concern," said chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee Kirby Hocutt.