College football: No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Washington, No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State in Playoff

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Grapevine, Texas • Commence debate — the pairings are in, and Penn State and Michigan are out.

Alabama is the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff and will meet No. 4 Washington in a semifinal game at the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31.

The other semifinal is No. 2 Clemson against No. 3 Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl, also Dec. 31.

Alabama is the only team to be in all three editions of the CFP so far. Ohio State and Clemson are in for the second time, and Washington is a first-timer in the four-team field.

Penn State finished No. 5 and is headed to the Rose Bowl. Michigan was No. 6, likely now bound for the Orange Bowl.

It's Alabama's stingy defense versus Washington's high-scoring offense in the Peach Bowl, one of the two College Football Playoff national semifinals this season.

The Crimson Tide plays its second straight game in the Georgia Dome. The nation's top defense faces an offense led by Jake Browning, who has thrown for 42 touchdowns against just seven interceptions.

Alabama, by contrast, has allowed just 14 total touchdowns, including three on the ground.

The Tide is bidding to become the third wire-to-wire No. 1 team in the AP poll while the Huskies worked their way up from a No. 14 preseason ranking. Alabama offensive analyst Steve Sarkisian was the Huskies head coach from 2009-13, and Tide co-defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi is a former Washington assistant as well.

Clemson will play Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl for a spot in the national championship game.

The Tigers (12-1) were No. 3 in the next-to-last College Football Playoff rankings and leapfrogged the Buckeyes after beating No. 18 Virginia Tech 42-35 in the ACC championship game.

Clemson finished No. 3 in the AP Top 25, a spot behind Ohio State (11-1).

Led by dynamic quarterback Deshaun Watson, Clemson lost to Alabama in the national championship game last season.

Ohio State lost to Penn State on Oct. 22, but closed the season with a double-overtime victory over then-No. 3 Michigan. The Nittany Lions rallied from 21 points down to beat No. 5 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship.