With the end of the college football regular season here, a selection committee consisted of athletic directors, former coaches and former players has selected the four teams that will compete for the National Championship in the college football playoff.

Ranked first, as so deserved, were the undefeated LSU Tigers. Lead by coach Orgeron and Heisman-winning quarterback Joe Burrow, the Tigers have been the biggest story in college football this season. After bringing in passing game/receivers coach Joe Brady, LSU finished with the number one offense in college football averaging 554 yards a game and was tied for the most touchdowns with 78. Joe Burrow led the NCAA with 48 passing touchdowns and looks to be a lock-up as a top five pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Their defense is respectable, with playmakers like Grant Delpit keeping opposing offenses to a respectable 341 yards a game. What impresses me most about this defense is the way they show up to big games, holding Alabama to 13 points at halftime and keeping Georgia to 10 points in the SEC Championship Game. Everyone has bought into the culture at LSU. It’s been a fairytale season for the Tigers, and they have two games left to write their own perfect ending.

Second in the rankings is Ohio State, a team led by first-year head coach Ryan Day. The Buckeyes defeated ranked teams such as Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin (twice) in dominating fashion en route to a 13-0 record.  Their suffocating defense, combined with quarterback Justin Fields dual threat ability and smart decision making, has made Ohio State a force to be reckoned with this season. They have the greatest defensive player in the country in Chase Young, who finished third in the Heisman voting only behind Joe Burrow and Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma. The Buckeyes finished with a point differential of +36.2, meaning they won games by an average of 36 points, a new team record. This team is not talked about nearly enough, and they look to make some real noise against Clemson.

The Clemson Tigers, ranked third, are the defending National Champions and most complex. Heading into this season, Clemson has been treated by the media as the next powerhouse football program, and they’ve earned that right. They’ve been to three national championships in four years, winning two of them under the reigns of head coach Dabo Sweeny. The Tigers have established themselves as a legitimate program, but after a slow start from sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence against an easy schedule that included a Saturday scare in which they barely escaped with a win against unranked North Carolina, many analysts had their doubts. They’ve played some of their best football in the last six weeks, and they’ve caught fire as a team at the right time. Sitting at No. 3, nobody really knows what to expect from this Clemson team, and just how good can they really be?

Fourth in the College Football rankings is the Oklahoma Sooners. Probably the weakest team in the playoffs, the Sooners lack talent on the defensive side, but they had a lot of luck on the last day of the regular season after beating Baylor in the Big 12 Championship. They were sitting at sixth in the rankings on the final day, but after losses from No. 4 Alabama and No. 5 Utah, they were able to sneak in. Head coach Lincoln Riley is an offensive genius and seems to make any quarterback he has a future Heisman Trophy candidate, but their defensive struggles will control how far this Oklahoma team can really go.

My Pick: I feel there are three legitimate teams with a chance to win it all, not including Oklahoma, but this season for LSU has been nothing short of magical. From the rise of transfer QB Joe Burrow to the new modern offense that nobody expected from coach Orgeron, LSU has looked practically impossible to stop. They have everything going for them, including chemistry and momentum, and I believe those two traits are what will push LSU to be the 2020 National Champions