| Cfp Years: | 2015–16 |
| Cfb Season: | 2015 |
| Semi Bowl1: | Orange Bowl |
| Semi Bowl2: | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| Semi Date: | December 31, 2015 |
| Champ Date: | January 11, 2016 |
| Team1: | Clemson |
| Team2: | Alabama |
| Team3: | Michigan State |
| Team4: | Oklahoma |
| Champion: | Alabama |
| Cfp Ordinal: | 1st |
| Overall Ordinal: | 16th |
| Previous: | 2014–15 |
| Next: | 2016–17 |
The 2015–16 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the second edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals, with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. Each participating team was the champion of its respective conference: No. 1 Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 2 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference, No. 3 Michigan State from the Big Ten Conference, and No. 4 Oklahoma from the Big 12 Conference.
The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the Orange Bowl and Cotton Bowl Classic on New Year's Eve, part of the season's slate of bowl games. In the Orange Bowl semifinal, Clemson defeated Oklahoma by twenty points. The second semifinal, at the Cotton Bowl, Alabama shutout Michigan State, 38–0. As a result of their victories, Clemson and Alabama faced each other in the national championship game, held on January 11 in Glendale, Arizona. In that game, Alabama won by five points, giving them their first CFP national championship and their sixteenth claimed national championship in school history.
The 2015–16 CFP selection committee was chaired by Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long. Its other members were Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, former United States Air Force Academy superintendent Michael C. Gould, Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt, former NCAA executive vice president Tom Jernstedt, former head coach Bobby Johnson, former Nebraska head coach Tom Osborne, Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich, former United States secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, former Big East Conference commissioner Mike Tranghese, former USA Today reporter Steve Wieberg, and former college head coach Tyrone Willingham.[1]
| Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clemson (8–0) | Clemson (9–0) | Clemson (10–0) | Clemson (11–0) | Clemson (12–0) | Clemson (13–0) | |
| 2 | LSU (7–0) | Alabama (8–1) | Alabama (9–1) | Alabama (10–1) | Alabama (11–1) | Alabama (12–1) | |
| 3 | Ohio State (8–0) | Ohio State (9–0) | Ohio State (10–0) | Oklahoma (10–1) | Oklahoma (11–1) | Michigan State (12–1) | |
| 4 | Alabama (7–1) | Notre Dame (8–1) | Notre Dame (9–1) | Iowa (11–0) | Iowa (12–0) | Oklahoma (11–1) | |
| 5 | Notre Dame (7–1) | Iowa (9–0) | Iowa (10–0) | Michigan State (10–1) | Michigan State (11–1) | Iowa (12–1) | |
| 6 | Baylor (7–0) | Baylor (8–0) | Oklahoma State (10–0) | Notre Dame (10–1) | Ohio State (11–1) | Stanford (11–2) |
See main article: 2015 Orange Bowl.
See main article: 2015 Cotton Bowl Classic (December).
See main article: 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship.