FBS Notebook: Long steps aside as CFP chairman

Jeff Long’s two-year run as the first chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee is ending.

CFP executive director Bill Hancock confirmed to USA Today on Tuesday that Long filled what was expected from the outset to be a one- to- two-year term as chairman after the playoff organization was formed. A new chairman from the current committee should be in place by the end of the month, Hancock said.

Long, the athletic director at Arkansas, has two years left in his term on the CFP committee and is expected to remain a member. During his tenure as chairman, he served as the spokesman for the group, explaining the rankings each week during the season to the media.

—Television ratings for the College Football Playoff national championship game on Monday night in Glendale, Ariz., were down 15 percent over the 2015 game.

Alabama’s 45-40 victory over Clemson drew a 15.8 overnight rating on ESPN compared with an 18.5 for last year’s title matchup between Ohio State and Oregon, which set an ESPN viewership record.

ESPN did report a record number of viewers for a non-World Cup game on its mobile app.

—College Football Playoff champion Alabama finished No. 1 in the final Associated Press rankings.

The Crimson Tide (14-1), who won their fourth national title in seven years under coach Nick Saban, received all 61 first-place votes after their 45-40 win over No. 2 Clemson in the CFP championship game on Monday night in Glendale, Ariz. Clemson (14-1) entered the game with the No. 1 ranking and finished at No. 2.

Stanford, which routed Iowa in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, moved up to No. 3 and was followed at No. 4 by Ohio State, which beat Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Rounding out the top five was Oklahoma, which lost to Clemson in the Orange Bowl in a CFP semifinal game.

The Big Ten topped all conferences with six teams in the Top 25. The Southeastern Conference was right behind with five, followed by the Big 12 with four.