Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, December 6, 2015
It's official: The Big Ten will get a chance to defend its inaugural College Football Playoff championship.
[ MORE: AP: Michigan State rallies to nip Iowa | Dienhart: Shame on us for doubting MSU | Video: Spartans celebrate | Watch Connor Cook apologize to Archie Griffin | Watch game-winning TD | You'll love these Vines ]
Big Ten champion Michigan State earned the No. 3 seed and will face No. 2 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl on New Year's Eve, it was announced early Sunday afternoon. Get Tom Dienhart's early preview.
In the other national semifinal, it's No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Oklahoma.
Ohio State won the inaugural crown last season as the No. 4 seed, beating No. 1 Alabama in the semifinal and No. 2 Oregon in the final.
The national title game will be played Monday, Jan. 11, 2016, in Glendale, Arizona.
Here's how the rest of the Big Ten fared in the final College Football Playoff rankings: Iowa (No. 5), Ohio State (No. 7), Northwestern (No. 13) and Michigan (No. 14).
View the full poll below:
| Playoff Selection Committee Poll | |||
| Rankings as of 12/6/2015 | |||
| Rank | School | Prev | |
| 1 | Clemson (13-0) | 1 | |
| 2 | Alabama (12-1) | 2 | |
| 3 | Michigan State (12-1) | 5 | |
| 4 | Oklahoma (11-1) | 3 | |
| 5 | Iowa (12-1) | 4 | |
| 6 | Stanford (11-2) | 7 | |
| 7 | Ohio State (11-1) | 6 | |
| 8 | Notre Dame (10-2) | 8 | |
| 9 | Florida State (10-2) | 9 | |
| 10 | North Carolina (11-2) | 10 | |
| 11 | TCU (10-2) | 11 | |
| 12 | Ole Miss (9-3) | 13 | |
| 13 | Northwestern (10-2) | 14 | |
| 14 | Michigan (9-3) | 15 | |
| 15 | Oregon (9-3) | 16 | |
| 16 | Oklahoma State (10-2) | 17 | |
| 17 | Baylor (9-3) | 12 | |
| 18 | Houston (12-1) | 19 | |
| 19 | Florida (10-3) | 18 | |
| 20 | LSU (8-3) | 21 | |
| 21 | Navy (9-2) | 23 | |
| 22 | Utah (9-3) | 24 | |
| 23 | Tennessee (8-4) | 25 | |
| 24 | Temple (10-3) | 22 | |
| 25 | USC (8-5) | 20 | |
