’Tis the season for college football.
The 12 days of Christmas have brought us the 12 teams in the College Football Playoffs (CFP), which kicks off the first of four opening games on Friday. Here’s a breakdown of each matchup and my predictions for this year’s playoff bracket.
No. 10 Indiana Hoosiers at No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Friday at 5 p.m.
Indiana: Curt Cignetti’s first year at Indiana has been miraculous as the Hoosiers have posted a school-best 11-1 record. It’s important to note that Cignetti took Indiana to a 10-0 start until they had to play then second-ranked Ohio State.
The Hoosiers promptly lost 38-15 to one of the nation’s best teams. Sure, that raised questions about their legitimacy, but regardless, they proceeded to flex their muscles once again, as they had done so many times before and demolished Purdue 66-0. Indiana is a great team with a bunch of heart and fire and if they are legit, then they have to beat Notre Dame on the road.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish were believed to be a force to be reckoned with during the preseason, but an early loss to Northern Illinois by two points really put a damper on the season. But then Notre Dame did Notre Dame things, (at least the things that were believed to be Notre Dame things in the preseason) and won out.
The verdict: Both teams are hot, and Indiana’s riding high after a new coach took them to heights they’ve never experienced. But Notre Dame is Notre Dame. The environment, the team, and quarterback Riley Leonard should be the difference. The Fighting Irish are used to running away with high scoring affairs and easily bullying their way to wins by large margins.
But Indiana is resilient. This game will either be a blowout upset by Indiana, or just another Notre Dame bullying. But it’s not impossible that we see a shootout that exhibits both these teams in crunch time with their season on the line.
Final score: Notre Dame 27 – 24
No.11 SMU Mustangs at No. 6 Penn St. Nittany Lions, Saturday at 9 a.m.
SMU: The Mustangs have played well enough all season and even beat out Alabama for one of the last spots in the playoffs after barely losing to Cade Klubnik and Clemson in a heartbreaker in the ACC Championship Game. They made mistakes in a game where teams cannot make mistakes. The ACC is a hard division with powerhouse like Clemson and Miami. But even after that loss, this SMU has shown a lot of character this season.
Penn State: The Nittany Lions are really good. They’re ranked as high as No. 4 for a reason, with their only loss coming to Ohio State, which is a defensive juggernaut. Even in that loss they stayed within one score and only lost by a touchdown. They also played for the Big 10 Championship against No. 1 Oregon, and even kept the game close before losing, 45-37. Going score for score in a shootout with Oregon and hanging tough with Ohio State definitely makes you legit.
The verdict: Penn State is a team that is led by one of the top quarterbacks in college football in Drew Allar. He’s played well even when he throws picks. SMU just hasn’t shown enough to hang with Penn State, which very well could’ve been ranked higher overall at the end of the season.
Final score: Penn State 41 – 17
No. 12 Clemson Tigers at No. 5 Texas Longhorns, Saturday 1 p.m.
Clemson: The Tigers lost to Georgia in the opening week of the season. It was a matchup that no one expected them to win, but they learned. They proceeded to go on a hot streak until unexpectedly losing to Louisville toward the end of the season. But all’s well that ends well, as. Clemson beat SMU to win the ACC title.
This secured them a spot among the top 12 teams in the playoffs. Cade Klubnik learned how to play quarterback very efficiently and has led Clemson to dominant wins over many teams.
Texas: The Longhorns are infuriating. They are so star studded but they keep shooting themselves in the foot. Despite losing their only two games this season to Georgia, including a 22-19 loss in the SEC Championship Game, Texas has still proven to be one of the top teams. Quinn Ewers is a top tier quarterback prospect, Isaiah Bond is a standout speedster at wide receiver, and Jahdae Barron is a star cornerback. Texas should run away with this game, but I would not put it past them to lose an upset. Their 34-3 win at Oklahoma was their high point, so if they can play the same football they played at Oklahoma, they’ll easily win.
The verdict: While Texas has been inconsistent this season and somehow stay ranked third, they will win this game. Clemson is good, but not good enough.
Final score: Texas 31-24
No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers at No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes, Saturday at 5 p.m,
Tennessee: The Vols have beaten some good teams, with Alabama being one of them. But Tennessee has lost some games in a big fashion, too. The style of Tennessee’s season was to win by big margins. They’ve been championed by their redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
He’s played well enough to be an early standout for a top NFL pick in the future, and he has some talent around him, including star defensive end James Pearce. But Tennessee will have to bring their A game to beat one of the best teams in the nation.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes suffered a boneheaded loss to Michigan in its season finale. The team has to have a lot of pent up anger, and lucky for them they have Tennessee coming into their home as an available punching bag. Head coach Ryan Day must be looking to fix his wrongs from the Michigan game.
Ohio State had only lost one game prior to the Michigan game, and that was, by one point to the nation’s best team, Oregon. They are a GOOD team, but so is Tennessee. This should be a fun game to watch.
The verdict: This game will ultimately rely on the ability of Iamaleava. Tennessee has proven to be good, but Ohio State is better, especially when it comes to the defensive side of the ball. This game has the potential to be a defensive exhibition rather than an offensive one.
Final score: Ohio State 31-28
Based on my predictions, the following second round matchups would be:
- No. 6 Penn State vs No. 3 Boise State, VRBO fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31 at 4:30 p.m.
Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty should prove to be a handful for Penn State for the first three quarters, but the Nittany Lions should ultimately win behind their defense.
Final score: Penn State 24-21
- No. 5 Texas vs No. 4 Arizona State, Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl, Jan. 1 at 10 a.m.
ASU’s standout running back Cam Skattebo is a stud that helped lead Arizona State to a more dominant win in AT&T Stadium than the Cowboys had in any game at home this year when they beat Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 Championship Game. But this won’t be enough while facing the star studded juggernaut that is Texas.
Final score: Texas 31-21
- No.8 Ohio State vs No.1 Oregon, Rose Bowl, Jan. 1 at 2 p.m.
Round 2 of Ohio State and Oregon Oregon is better, most likely the best all around team in college football., If Oregon can beat Ohio State once this season, they can do it again. Ohio State loses a heartbreaker, again, but this time it’s the ability of Dillon Gabriel, instead of a self inflicted wound.
Final score: Oregon 34-31
- No. 7 Notre Dame vs No. 2 Georgia, Allstate Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1 at 5:45 p.m.
This game relies on the status of Georgia’s star quarterback Carson Beck, who recently got injured in the SEC Championship Game. Even though the Bulldogs won with a backup, I don’t think that they can beat Notre Dame that way. If Beck is playing, Georgia wins. If he isn’t, then it’s Notre Dame.
Final score: If Beck is healthy: Georgia 31-24; Notre Dame 38-10 if he isn’t. I’m leaning toward the latter since it’s Beck’s throwing elbow that’s injured.
Semifinal predictions:
- No. 5 Notre Dame vs No. 6 Penn State
Penn State wins this matchup, Notre Dame is a tough team, but the Nittany Lion defense and Allar at quarterback should be enough to secure a win to secure a spot in the title game.
Final score: Penn State 24-17
- No. 1 Oregon vs No. 3 Texas
It’s Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel’s Heisman worthy campaign and the all around best team in college football vs the star-studded Texas Longhorns? Sign me up. This game should be ALL offense and should be a shootout until the end, But the road doesn’t end here for the Ducks and Gabriel, as they win on a last minute field goal.
Final score: Oregon 39-36 .
The College Football National Championship should be between No. 1 Oregon and No. 6 Penn State, a rematch of the Big 10 Championship Game. This game would be another good one.
A sturdy Penn State defense versus the efficient and undefeated Oregon offense should be a great one for the title, and it is one college football fans should rejoice. It also should be a bit of a change of pace because for once we’re not watching Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, or Michigan.
But this should be a fun one with Oregon coming out on top. This seems to be Oregon’s year, so I see them winning a close shootout that will propel Gabriel’s NFL draft stock to the skies.
Final score: Oregon 42 – 38.
