By Southern Pigskin Staff
SouthernPigskin.com

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Two ACC teams, Clemson and Notre Dame, and one SEC team, top-ranked Alabama, make the final four.

The field for the 2020 College Football Playoff has been set: (1) Alabama, (2) Clemson, (3) Ohio State and (4) Notre Dame. On New Year’s Day, the Crimson Tide and Fighting Irish will meet in the Rose Bowl, hosted in Arlington’s AT&T Stadium, and the Tigers and Buckeyes will play in the Sugar Bowl. Texas A&M finished as the first team outside of the top four, coming in at number five in the final rankings.

A rematch of the 2012-2013 BCS National Championship Game, a 42-14 Alabama victory, the Crimson Tide and Notre Dame are arguably the two most storied programs in the history of the game. Alabama enters this matchup as the top-ranked undefeated SEC champion, while Notre Dame gets in as an at-large candidate, giving the ACC two teams in the final four for the first time ever. Back in the playoff after missing the field last season, Alabama is making its sixth appearance. This is the second bid for Notre Dame, returning after a year out as well.

Clemson has now made the College Football Playoff six consecutive years, missing only the inaugural tournament. Ohio State is making a fourth trip. The Tigers and Buckeyes have already played in the semifinals twice, with Clemson winning both matchups: 31-0 in 2016 and 29-23 last season. This past year’s pairing was one to remember, with Trevor Lawrence throwing a go-ahead touchdown pass to Travis Etienne with less than two minutes remaining and Nolan Turner intercepting Justin Fields in the endzone to finish the game.

Should favorites Alabama and Clemson advance, it would be their fifth meeting in the College Football Playoff in six seasons. The Crimson Tide and Tigers have already played in the national championship game three times.

Texas A&M, which finished the season at 8-1 with only a loss to Alabama, will face North Carolina in the Orange Bowl.

The final top ten of the College Football Playoff Poll is as follows: Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Cincinnati, Indiana, Oklahoma, Coastal Carolina, Florida.