CFP semifinals: Clemson gets Oklahoma, Alabama draws Michigan State

The College Football Playoff semifinal pairings have been announced, and they don't come as much of a surprise.

Top-ranked Clemson will take on No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl. The only borderline shocker was Michigan State, who leapfrogged the Sooners into the No. 3 spot after dethroning Iowa as the Big Ten's top school. With that, No. 2 Alabama drew the Spartans in the Cotton Bowl Classic.

Tigers vs. Sooners: The tiebreaker

The first time these schools squared off against each other was in 1963. In that time, they've hit the field together four times, and have split the series.

This, easily the most important matchup between Clemson and Oklahoma, will be the tiebreaker. What's interesting about having a Big 12 school in the semifinals is how such an offensive-minded conference will deal with high-end defenses.

The bad news for Oklahoma, though, is that the Tigers possess the best combination of offense (No. 12) and defense (No. 7) in the nation.

Crimson Tide vs. Spartans: A shot at redemption

Michigan State is still trying to forget the last and only time it played Alabama.

In the 2010 season, the Spartans were riding high 11-1 going into the Capital One Bowl (ironically, the loss was to Iowa). Then the Crimson Tide happened. Over, and over again.

Alabama cruised to a 49-7 win in which Eddie Lacy and Mark Ingram rushed for two touchdowns each, while Trent Richardson and Julio Jones added scores of their own.

But this time around, it'll be a battle between two of the best defenses in the nation. The only sticking point in this game is how Derrick Henry will run against the seventh-ranked rushing defense in the country, and if Connor Cook will put a rough Big Ten championship performance behind him.