2015 Alabama vs. Michigan State Cotton Bowl semifinal: Good lord, Bama, that was mean

Update: Playoff exec Bill Hancock has now commented, and it’s basically what we expected below.

Last year’s inaugural College Football Playoff had roughly everything its organizers and fans could’ve hoped for: entertaining games (even a lopsided Rose Bowl featured the end of a dominant Florida State team hated by casual fans), compelling players (the last two Heisman winners and plenty of star power across the board) and three of the sport’s blue bloods (Alabama, FSU and the eventual national champions, Ohio State).

The Saban Dance is sweeping the nation! Well, if that nation is comprised solely of Alabama. On Saturday it was Bama hoops that caught some Saban Dance fever with the Million Dollar Band paying homage to the school’s football coach with their imitation of his short-armed T-Rex dance following the school’s win at the Cotton Bowl.

The beauty, the majesty of it all. This could catch on like the “Macarena”! It’s easy to dance to, requires no rhythm or ability. It’s perfect.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN

Radio: Alabama and Michigan State affiliates are available.

The Playoff on New Year’s Eve is a bizarre experiment. It’s kind of arrogant, but so is assuming most people prefer luxurious parties that don’t have TVs to watching major sports championships with friends. Some people have to work, but everybody else will figure out how to handle this, and we’ll all have a good time.

So, let’s talk about the Orange Bowl semifinal in Miami! (4 p.m. ET, ESPN and WatchESPN)

If Vegas is correct, Alabama will win the College Football Playoff over Oklahoma. Bovada lists that as the most likely scenario, at 13/5 odds, with the reverse result of the same matchup as the second-most likely, at 7/2 odds.

The advanced stats would agree with those odds, as the S&P+ ratings give Alabama a 42 percent chance to win it all. Four of our 10 SB Nation analysts also chose the Tide to win the national championship, while two each picked Oklahoma, Michigan State and Clemson.

For the last 15 years, college football’s national champion has recruited more four- and five-star prospects than two- or three-star prospects over its previous four classes. Most of the teams those champs have faced in the championship game have, too.

In the inaugural College Football Playoff, the streak looked to be in jeopardy as Ohio State went into the final as a slight underdog. But the Buckeyes who met the mark crushed Oregon, which had not.

It’s the Tuesday before the College Football Playoff starts, and Cotton Bowl Media Day is having a pleasant afternoon. All the students are doing lightning round questions with ESPN, and Nick Saban’s there to share some pre-game tho-- [AN INTERRUPTING TRAIN ROLLS THROUGH AND STARTLES NICK SABAN WITH ITS HORN]:

The best part is that we get to see the three stages of Startled Nick Saban:

On Sunday, Henry responded during a media event in the lead up to the New Year’s Eve bowl. The junior tailback wasn’t offended by the challenge.

His backfield partner, running back Kenyan Drake, was more direct with his response.

Ty and Dan break down the Clemson-Oklahoma and Alabama-Michigan State games in the build up to the 2015 College Football Playoff with some help from SB Nation’s Shakin The Southland, The Only Colors and Roll Bama Roll, as well as Allen Kenney from BlatantHomerism.com.

On November 7, LSU’s Leonard Fournette was the Heisman favorite by better than even money.

Hours later, Alabama’s Derrick Henry was the Heisman favorite. Henry cracked even money a week later, building a six-game streak of 140 yards against FBS teams. Fournette ended up not making the cut as a finalist.

Kirby Smart is Georgia’s new head coach. He’s also still Alabama’s defensive coordinator for the College Football Playoff. He’s recruiting for his new job while also preparing to play games at his old job. This is complicated, and does end up happening this time of year:

Picking any bowl games? You’re gonna want to study up on these 40 advanced-stats tales of the tape previews of each bowl game by Bill Connelly. The numbers say Bama should dominate the trenches against Michigan State and Clemson’s going to harass Baker Mayfield, for instance.