Confession: I've been in London since January 3 so I can only speak from the little bit of the final game I've been able to see here. I remain convinced that Ohio State had enough talent to play with any of the teams contending for the NC, too include UCF. BUT, the Buckeyes were not the team we collectively thought they could/should/ought to have been. They did nothing in the second half of their Cotton Bowl game to make me believe that the committee got it wrong outside the possible choice of UCF over Clemson, and while UCF might have won a game against one of the remaining teams, I seriously doubt they would have had the depth to beat two teams of that quality.
Geography was an issue in the finals in that Clemson did not have to venture very far, but Alabama traveled well and so it didn't matter.
In the end, Saban's recruiting and coaching staff paid dividends and they once again prevailed.