It’s been several days since college football fans learned of the four teams chosen to compete in the second College Football Playoff. There was no great controversy like in 2014, when Ohio State leapfrogged Big 12 co-champions Baylor and TCU to earn the fourth seed; the Buckeyes would validate that selection by beating Alabama and Oregon to win the national championship. In 2015, though, the committee tasked with picking the four playoff participants only had four teams to choose from for four spots, making the main “controversy” one of which teams would play each other in the semifinals. Clemson, Alabama, and Michigan State all won conference championship games, while Oklahoma won the Big 12 outright – the Sooners’ regular season finale with Oklahoma State was essentially a conference title game itself.

So Clemson and Oklahoma will meet in the Orange Bowl, while Alabama and Michigan State do battle in the Cotton Bowl. The Tigers beat the Sooners convincingly in last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl, but with new players on both teams, and the stakes higher, expect a different outcome to the game. Meanwhile, Nick Saban is reunited with his former team, now led by former assistant Mark Dantonio. Ohio State stunned the Crimson Tide in the 2015 Sugar Bowl, but will the Crimson Tide be able to apply the lessons learned from that game to beat the Spartans?

Speaking of the Buckeyes, they’ll face Notre Dame in the marquee matchup of the remaining New Year’s Six bowls, the Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State beat the Fighting Irish in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl, the last year before the game was moved from Tempe to Glendale. Also, Iowa and Stanford will play in the Rose Bowl (the Cardinal making its third Pasadena appearance in four years); Ole Miss faces Oklahoma State in the Sugar Bowl, and Florida State-Houston is the Peach Bowl matchup.

Much was made about the chances of Ohio State going to the Rose Bowl, if only because of the school having a bigger brand than Iowa. In the end, the Hawkeyes going to Pasadena does make more sense; they went undefeated in the regular season, won their division, and lost in the last minute of a thrilling Big Ten championship game. The fact that Iowa won their division (let alone coming agonizingly close to making the Playoff) is an accomplishment, and the Rose Bowl is an appropriate award.

However, there was no consistency when it came to the Peach Bowl, where Florida State will play instead of ACC Coastal winner North Carolina. The Tar Heels recovered from a season-opening loss to become one of the hottest – yet underrated – teams in the country, right up to the ACC title game loss to Clemson. The ending of that game aside, one of the Tar Heels’ best seasons in program history will end in the Russell Athletic Bowl, which just seems unfitting. Iowa deserves to be in the Rose Bowl, but North Carolina also was worthy of a New Year’s Six game. The same could be said of SEC East winner Florida, but the Gators had lackluster performances in their final two games, allowing Ole Miss (the one team to beat Alabama) to take the SEC’s Sugar Bowl slot.

What’s your take on the bowl matchups? Leave a comment below!