College Football Playoff Rankings 2014: Twitter Reacts to Final Reveal

There weren't any major upsets on championship weekend, but the circumstances of the best teams' victories sparked plenty of debate ahead of Sunday's final College Football Playoff rankings.

The reigning national champion Florida State Seminoles capped off an undefeated season 37-35 over Georgia Tech for the ACC title, which was expected to be enough to qualify for the Top Four. However, the Ohio State Buckeyes' thrashed Wisconsin, 59-0, to win the Big Ten, while Baylor defeated Kansas State 38-27 to join TCU as Big 12 champions.

In the end, the selection committee opted to plug in Ohio State as the final playoff program. Here is a look at the complete postseason bracket, per SportsCenter:

BREAKING: College Football Playoff is set. 1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State http://ift.tt/1u4bEGF

- SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 7, 2014

CBS' Brad Johansen weighed in on the polarizing rankings:

Having the first CFB Playoff that only the committee that picked the teams agrees with is what twitter was made for

- Brad Johansen (@bradjohansen) December 7, 2014

Alabama remaining in the top spot off an SEC title over Missouri isn't a surprise, nor is Oregon at No. 2 due to its vengeful, 51-13 dismantling of Arizona, the only team the Ducks had lost to this year. The Crimson Tide face the Buckeyes in the Sugar Bowl, and Oregon will tangle with Florida State in the Rose Bowl.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports feels the coaching battle between Alabama and Ohio State will be a source of serious buzz:

Finally, college football's Final 4: 1. #Bama 2. #Oregon 3. #FSU 4. #OhioState Sorry, Big12. Urban/Saban will be a HUGE TV draw.

- Bruce Feldman (@BruceFeldmanCFB) December 7, 2014

As for the other playoff tilt, ESPN.com's Brett Edgerton alluded to an interesting fact about the Seminoles being counted on by oddsmakers to lose:

Florida State has been favored in 50 (50!) straight games. Opens as an 8.5-point underdog vs Oregon.

- Brett Edgerton (@EditorEdge) December 7, 2014

It has to be shocking for a team like TCU, inside the playoff picture in last week's edition, to win 55-3 over Iowa State and see itself tumble out of national title contention so suddenly.

ESPN personality Skip Bayless shared his opinion, hinting at name recognition playing a role in TCU's steep drop:

This came down to tradition, mystique, marketability, big-name vs no-name program. OHIO STATE over tcu. FLORIDA STATE over tcu.

- Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) December 7, 2014

Matt Winer of ESPN wondered whether the prior releases mean anything in light of how far the Horned Frogs fell:

So, the committee dropped TCU from 3 to 6 after a 52 point win? What was the point of previous standings? #collegefootballplayoff

- Matt Winer (@matt_winer) December 7, 2014

On the other hand, Ohio State's triumph over Wisconsin was nothing short of spectacular. Former third-string quarterback Cardale Jones succeeded two injured potential Heisman contenders in Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett, and played as well as could've been expected in the blowout win.

Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany spoke after the game and summarized what the selection committee had to be thinking, via ESPN's Brian Bennett:

More Delany: 'If that wasn't one of the 4 best teams tonight, I don't know what we're looking for'

- Brian Bennett (@BennettESPN) December 7, 2014

Chip Taylor of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution feels OSU's resounding statement in the Big Ten title game may lead to a trend in the coming years:

With Ohio State's leap into the Final Four, we can welcome in the era of stomp your opponent into oblivion if you can.

- AJC UGA (@ChipTowersAJC) December 7, 2014

A poor non-conference schedule harmed Baylor's chances, and its head-to-head victory over TCU has been a perpetual spot of bother for the selection committee.

ESPN College Football highlighted the resumes of the Big 12 co-champions and Ohio State, and it was evident that strength of schedule played a part in the Buckeyes getting the nod:

Baylor, Ohio State & TCU Resumes ' http://ift.tt/1u4XODT

- ESPN CollegeFootball (@ESPNCFB) December 7, 2014

Will Brinson of CBSSports.com alluded to another factor that seemed to carry a lot of weight:

Jeff Long is basically saying the most important factor for the CFB Playoff committee is recency bias.

- Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 7, 2014

Due to how competitive the running was for the fourth and final marquee postseason berth, there will likely be talk of making tweaks to the system.

Rivals.com's Josh Helmholdt hinted at that in his analysis:

If you come out of this upset about the #CFBplayoff's final 4, rally for an 8-team field. Please don't pine for the BCS

- Josh Helmholdt (@JoshHelmholdt) December 7, 2014

Dan Wetzel of Yahoo Sports noticed a certain theme in the committee's rhetoric, which may be seen as an attempt to quiet arguments about the rankings:

No matter if it was decisive or not, the committee is going to say its 'decisive.' That's just a buzzword. It will always be decisive.

- Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) December 7, 2014

But The Big Lead's Jason McIntyre feels the circumstances actually hurt the possibility of an extended playoff field:

Ohio State getting in over TCU hurts 8-team playoff charge. Committee will just tell Big 12: 'get a conference championship game.' Booooo

- Jason McIntyre (@jasonrmcintyre) December 7, 2014

Perhaps the most fascinating part about this new four-team playoff is that the winners of the first games on New Year's Day will have to prepare for an unprecedented challenge. While there is ample time to get up to speed on their opponent ahead of January 12's national title showdown, playing two opponents of such quality caliber is such a rare phenomenon.

The matchups should be excellent, as Alabama will take on an Ohio State team that traditionally has trouble with the SEC. Jones won't be as much of a surprise, because the Tide actually have game tape on him, a luxury Wisconsin didn't have.

As for the Oregon-Florida State battle, it will pit Ducks signal-caller Marcus Mariota against defending Heisman winner Jameis Winston in one of the best QB duels in recent history.

Instead of having to shoehorn two teams into the grand finale, this College Football Playoff allows two of the top four teams to play two games in deciding a champion. That should create a ton of anticipation as the other bowls play out, and it ought to prove to be the most authentic way to date of determining the best NCAA football team.