College Football Playoff Rankings 2019: Official Committee Poll for Final Week

Bring on the postseason.

The final College Football Playoff rankings were set Sunday after conference championships were decided over the previous two days. The semifinals will take place Saturday, Dec. 28, with No. 1 LSU vs. No. 4 Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl and No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

Below, we'll take a look at those rankings and analyze how we ended up here.

Rankings

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Oklahoma

5. Georgia

6. Oregon

7. Baylor

8. Wisconsin

9. Florida

10. Penn State

11. Utah

12. Auburn

13. Alabama

14. Michigan

15. Notre Dame

16. Iowa

17. Memphis

18. Minnesota

19. Boise State

20. Appalachian State

21. Cincinnati

22. USC

23. Navy

24. Virginia

25. Oklahoma State

Analysis

The CFP selection committee's job ended up being pretty easy this season.

With wins in their respective conference championships, LSU, Ohio State and Clemson finished undefeated. Oklahoma won the Big 12 with just one loss, while Utah lost its second game of the season in the Pac-12 title game against Oregon. Alabama picked up its second loss last week in the Iron Bowl, ending any real debate over the No. 4 team.

Coming into Sunday, the biggest question was whether LSU or Ohio State would be the top team in the country. Both made strong arguments.

LSU had big-time wins against Florida, Auburn, Alabama and Georgia. Ohio State countered with quality wins against Wisconsin (twice), Penn State and Michigan. LSU is led by Joe Burrow, who is expected to win the Heisman Trophy by a wide margin. Ohio State counters with its own exciting quarterback, Justin Fields, and defensive end Chase Young, who will be in the running to be the top overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft.

LSU put its best foot forward in the SEC title game, smashing Georgia 37-10. After the game, Burrow didn't seem to care much for where LSU would be ranked or who it will play next.

"You can take us to Canada, and we'll play on a gravel lot," he said, per Scott Rabalais of the Advocate. "It doesn't matter where or who we play."

Ohio State, meanwhile, had to overcome a 21-7 deficit against Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game. But 27 unanswered points later, it was the conference champion.

"We took their best shot, but we still had a half," Buckeyes running back J.K. Dobbins said, per the Associated Press. "It would be cool to be No. 1. We're a complete team, I think."

The committee chose LSU.

That means Ohio State will have the difficult task of facing Clemson, which handled its business as always with a 62-17 blowout of Virginia in the ACC title game. The Tigers lack the signature wins LSU and Ohio State boast, but dismiss the defending champions at your own peril.

"This is an incredibly special group of young people," head coach Dabo Swinney told Scott Keepfer of the Greenville News. "This was a great way to finish our season and kick off the postseason."

Oklahoma's 30-23 overtime win, meanwhile, set up a matchup with LSU. It also meant yet another conference title for Jalen Hurts, who returns to the postseason with his second team after previously winning the title with Alabama.

"There is a narrative out there that the SEC is a different animal, but the Big 12 is tough," Hurts said Saturday, per Mark Heim of AL.com. "Baylor, they're a really good team, very physical team, and I got a lot of respect for them. We're going to enjoy it."

And so a number of familiar faces return to the CFP, headlining another year of exciting postseason matchups.