The first year of the new College Football Playoff was always going to be historic, and the Sugar Bowl provided many positive memories for Ohio State, who beat Alabama 42-35 on Thursday night. Some of the storylines from New Orleans: it was the Buckeyes’ first official bowl win over an SEC team; the game was yet another classic between Urban Meyer & Nick Saban; the Big Ten in general had a great New Year’s Day, with Michigan State and Wisconsin also winning high-profile games. Associated Press writer Ralph D. Russo offered this perspective…

The game also provided another opportunity for Cardale Jones to shine on the national stage. Before the Big Ten Championship Game in December, the redshirt sophomore from Cleveland was best known for a controversial tweet in 2012 about how “classes are pointless.” After leading Ohio State to a 59-0 win over Wisconsin, Jones’ second career start had a shaky beginning, with two first-half turnovers resulting in two Alabama touchdowns.

Had the Buckeyes not responded with 14 unanswered points before halftime, how many OSU fans would’ve been thinking “Here we go again…” with the second half still to come? But the main theme for this year’s team has been responding to adversity; they did so when Braxton Miller was ruled out for the season; they did so when J.T. Barrett broke his ankle against Michigan; and they responded a third time when trailing 21-6 to the Crimson Tide.

For fans who believe in superstitions, the 2014 season follows the recent cycle of Ohio State being involved in serious contention every four years…

2014 – OSU makes four-team playoff, beats Alabama to make championship game
2010 – Buckeyes get to #1 ranking, eventually win share of Big Ten, win over Arkansas in Sugar Bowl (season was later vacated)
2006 – Wire-to-wire #1 ranking through regular season, loss to Florida in national championship game
2002 – 14-0 record, Buckeyes beat Miami to win Fiesta Bowl and national title
1998 – OSU begins season #1, loses to Michigan State, but wins share of Big Ten, beats Texas A&M in Sugar Bowl

Now the Buckeyes will prepare themselves for Oregon in the national title game in Arlington, Texas. The two schools played each other for the very first NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship in 1939, so perhaps it’s fitting that they’d meet in the final of this inaugural playoff. Early betting odds have the Ducks as favorites, just like the 2010 Rose Bowl, which Ohio State won. But this will be a much different matchup than the meeting five years ago in Pasadena.

Ohio State will be playing its third straight game against a team with a 2014 Heisman Trophy finalist. It’ll be the first time they’ve played a Heisman winner (Marcus Mariota), in the season he actually won, since 1999 (Ron Dayne, Wisconsin). Sam Bradford was the last Heisman winner to lose in a postseason game, and Mariota will be keen on making sure the streak of good fortune doesn’t change. The Ducks’ 59-20 dismantling of Florida State in the Rose Bowl had Meyer shocked not necessarily by the outcome, but by the final margin…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rrixObhf_w

Many pundits have mentioned that if the BCS was still around, Alabama and Florida State would’ve played each other for the title, while Oregon and Ohio State would’ve missed out. But with the playoff, two exciting results have led to one final battle between the Buckeyes and Ducks, which is likely to showcase everything that is great about college football. Expect a wild and entertaining game in Arlington on January 12.