College football begins a new era today. After years of frustration with the Bowl Championship Series, there's finally a playoff to crown a national champion. If you haven't followed the season closely to this point but want to follow along, here's a quick rundown of what you should know about each team, and their chances to win the playoff. Ohio State will play Alabama in one semi-final game while Florida State battles Oregon in the other. Four teams might seem like too few, especially for the Big 12 conference, but the new playoff is much better than its predecessor. We'll take a look at these four teams and their paths to the first college football playoff. A few numbers will guide us on this journey. Rank in preseason AP poll. The higher ranked team in the p…