Florida State, ranked No. 3, will play No. 2 Oregon in Rose Bowl

The game will pair Seminoles quarterback Jameis Winston, last season’s Heisman Trophy winner, against Ducks quarterback Marcus Mariota, the favorite to win this season’s Heisman.

“We’re just glad to be in the playoff,” coach Jimbo Fisher said. “Wherever you’re ranked right now, I don’t know if it matters very much. Every team in this playoff is a great team.”

FSU defeated Auburn, 34-31, at the Rose Bowl in January to win the final title game in the Bowl Championship Series.

“It was a great place for us last (January),” Fisher said.

Oregon avenged its only loss of the season Friday with a 51-13 victory over Arizona in the Pac-12 title game.

“Being an inaugural event … it’s another bullet point of just how far our program has come,” Ducks coach Mark Helfrich said about being a part of the playoff.

No. 1 Alabama (12-1) will meet No. 4 Ohio State (12-1) at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 1 in the other national semifinal. The game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans will pair coaching titans and former SEC rivals Nick Saban and Urban Meyer.

TCU, the No. 3 team in Tuesday’s rankings, dropped three spots to No. 6 after a 55-3 victory over 2-10 Iowa State on Saturday.

Ohio State moved into the fourth spot after crushing then-No. 13 Wisconsin 59-0 in the Big Ten championship game.

Baylor, a 38-27 winner over then-No. 9 Kansas State, moved up one spot to No. 5.

Committee chairman and Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long said the Seminoles’ spot in the playoff was not in jeopardy despite the Seminoles having twice been demoted in the ranking despite not losing. FSU, the lone undefeated team in the country, solidified its position Saturday with a 37-35 victory over Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game, the Seminoles’ third consecutive conference title. Georgia Tech was No. 11 in the most recent CFP rankings.

“Really, 1, 2 and 3 were clear-cut,” Long said. “Florida State moved to that three position because of their body of work. They won the championship, they remained undefeated.”

Florida State had slipped two spots to No. 4 in recent weeks.

“To go undefeated, I don’t know if people realize how hard it is, especially after coming off a national championship when you’re undefeated,” Fisher said.

Fisher was asked if he has any doubt on Sunday that FSU would selected for the playoff.

“I felt confident but you never know what’s going to happen until it happens,” he said. “Anything can happen.”

The Seminoles, who are No. 2 in the Associate Press and coaches polls, have won seven games by six or fewer points, including their last four — over Miami, Boston College, Florida and Georgia Tech — by a total of 14 points.

Oregon has won its last five games by an average of 30.6 points.

The talk for most of the week was the possibility of Florida State and Alabama being paired in New Orleans. The game would have stoked the emotions of FSU fans who have felt that their team has been under-appreciated, largely because of a perceived media bias towards the SEC.

But Long said the committee was not concerned about matchups.

Oregon, which runs an up-tempo, no-huddle offense, is third nationally in scoring (46.3 points per game) and total offense (546.2 yards per game).

“They do it as such a high level and with the efficiency, it’s off the charts,” Fisher said. “They’re unbelievably explosive in what they do.”

Mariota is considered the top pro prospect among quarterbacks, just ahead of Winston. He leads the country in passing efficiency and points responsible for with 318. Mariota is fifth with 3,783 passing yards.

“He’s one of the all-time great quarterbacks in college football history, running, throwing, the dynamics he brings to the table,” Fisher said.

The two teams have never played each other.

Noteworthy: Fisher said defensive tackle Eddie Goldman (ankle) and cornerback Ronald Darby (hand) "will be ready to play in a few days." Both left Saturday's game in the first half and did not return.