With a new year of college football done and over with, fans and players can now say they witnessed history in the making. The 2014-2015 season started a new era of college football end-of-the-year festivities, the first ever College Football Playoffs. Four teams battled it out to be named this year’s National Champion, but only one university prevailed.

Many wondered if this idea would even work; however, the first ever College Football Playoffs was a success and looks as if it will be a lasting tradition. Delphi senior athlete Adam Shanks claimed, “As a football fan, it was nice to see a true winner.” Sports fans across the nation agreed. “Without  the new playoff system, lower seeded teams would never have the chance to win a national championship,” said Shanks. The four teams looking to claim the first ever playoffs title were the one seed Alabama, the two seed Oregon, the three seed Florida State, and finally the four seed Ohio State.

This year’s playoffs consisted of two semi-final bowl games that led their winners to the National Championship game in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. The matchups for the semi-finals brought a strong Alabama team to face an underdog in Ohio State for the Sugar Bowl. This left a quick Oregon Ducks team, led by Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota, to contend against Jameis Winston and his undefeated Seminoles from Florida State for the Rose Bowl.

Starting with the Sugar Bowl, Ohio State looked for guidance from a young third string quarterback in Cardale Jones after losing their first and second string QBs to injuries in the regular season. Guidance is exactly what the sophomore QB brought for the Buckeyes as he made some big time plays in crunch time to get a come-from-behind win over Alabama. The final score favored Ohio State 42-35.

Next up was the Rose Bowl where Oregon looked to end Florida State’s 29 game winning streak. Heisman trophy winner Marcus Mariota got his offense going early and never looked back. The Oregon Ducks went on to take the Rose Bowl by a score of 59-20. This victory set the matchup for the first ever Playoff National Championship game, Oregon vs. Ohio State.

The first quarter started off with a bang due to a quick Oregon touchdown on the first drive of the game. With the Ducks off to a quick start, fans wondered if the outcome would be like the one of the Rose Bowl, an easy Oregon victory. Ohio State also came ready to play though, as the Buckeye offense answered with a ten play, 97 yard touchdown drive to even the score at 7-7. OSU’s defense shocked Oregon fans as they forced Mariota and the Duck’s strong offense off the field 8 out of the 14 times they had the ball. After an Oregon punt, the Buckeye’s were able to cap off another powerful drive with a TD to give them a 14-7 advantage entering the second quarter.

The second quarter, similar to the first, belonged all to the Buckeyes. Cardale Jones was able to lead a six play, 49 yard touchdown drive to extend the score to 21-7. Oregon wasn’t out of it yet though. Mariota was able to rally his offensive crew for a 66 yard drive that led to a field goal. With that Oregon score being the last of the first half, both teams entered halftime with a score of 21-10 favoring Ohio State.

To start the second half, OSU was back to receive the kickoff. Jones and the Buckeye offense were able to march 38 yards down the field until the Oregon defense was able to force an interception. One play after the Ohio State turnover, Mariota was able to capitalize after throwing an easy 70 yard touchdown pass right down the middle of the field. After narrowing the score to 21-17, the Ducks were now within four. The next offensive drive for Ohio State was a disaster as they fumbled on the first play giving Oregon the ball back. Mariota was only able to produce another field goal after the second Ohio State turnover of the half. With the score now 21-20, Buckeye fans started to worry. Cardale Jones, on the other hand, showed no sense of nervousness as he led Ohio State down the field for a 75 yard touchdown drive right before the end of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter began with a score of 28-20 and Ohio State didn’t stop adding on the pressure. The Buckeyes were able to capitalize on two more scoring drives which put Oregon, mentally, out of the game . With a final score of 42-20, the Ohio State Buckeyes went on to win the first ever College Football Playoff National Championship game.