In the Rose Bowl semifinal, Oregon defeated Florida State by a margin of thirty-nine points.
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.
Ohio State running back Ezekiel Elliott won Most Valuable Player honors after scoring four touchdowns in the national championship game, which broke viewership records and became the most-watched cable television broadcast in history with an average viewership of over 33 million.
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.
[4] Arizona State made their debut in the top six in the third rankings release after Auburn's loss to unranked Texas A&M dropped them to No.
[5][6] The Sun Devils suffered a loss to Oregon State the following week, dropping them back out of the top six,[7] and a win by No.
[16] The inaugural semifinal pairings were announced alongside the rest of the top 25 during the release of the final CFP rankings on December 7, 2014.
[19] These final rankings generated some controversy, even before their release; on the morning of December 7, Forbes' Mike Ozanian criticized the College Football Playoff system and the makeup of the selection committee.
[22] Florida State began the scoring with a field goal on their first drive, and Oregon responded with a touchdown followed by a two-point conversion.
The Ducks maintained their five-point lead into halftime after each team scored a touchdown and a field goal in the second quarter.
[24] at Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana The second CFP semifinal, hosted at the Sugar Bowl, was played between No.
[26] Both teams scored twice in the game's first quarter, Ohio State on two field goals and Alabama on two touchdowns, the first of which came after a fumble by Ezekiel Elliott.
The Crimson Tide scored first in the second quarter following an interception by Cyrus Jones, though Ohio State responded with two touchdowns to narrow the deficit to one point entering halftime.
[29] Oregon led early after capping their first drive with a Marcus Mariota touchdown pass, though Ohio State scored two touchdowns later in the quarter and ultimately took an eleven-point lead into halftime following scores from Cardale Jones, Ezekiel Elliott, and Nick Vannett.
A long touchdown reception by Byron Marshall, coupled with a later field goal, brought the Ducks within one point of Ohio State midway through the third quarter, but a second touchdown rush by Elliott gave Ohio State an eight-point advantage as the quarter expired.
Elliott added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, ultimately giving the Buckeyes a twenty-two point victory and earning himself offensive MVP honors.
[30] The game ended with an interception,[31] the fifth turnover of the contest,[32] securing Ohio State the national championship win.
[34] All three playoff games were televised on ESPN; the championship, which averaged over 33 million viewers, became the new most-watched cable broadcast.