With the end of the college football regular season, the College Football Playoff teams have been announced.
The number one seed for the playoffs is the Michigan Wolverines. This is not a surprising pick because of the absolute dominance that Michigan has shown in the Big 10. They beat number 20 Iowa in the conference championship, 26 to 0, as well as taking down the then number two team Ohio State 30 to 24.
The two seed for the playoffs is the Washington Huskies. This pick makes sense due to their win in the Pac-12 Championship against then fifth seed Oregon, as well as their 13-0 record.
Washington will be facing the number three Texas Longhorns in a rematch of last year’s Alamo Bowl, which Washington won 27 to 20.
Texas is a much different team than they were in the Alamo Bowl last year, and they deserve to be in the playoffs due to their overwhelming victory in the Big 12 conference championship, winning over Oklahoma State, 49 to 21.
The final team to make the playoffs is the fourth seed Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama is coming off of a shocker victory in the SEC Championship against then one seed Georgia. Alabama would be ranked higher, and this would be a less controversial pick, had they beaten Texas earlier in the season.
The main reason why this is such a controversial pick is due to the fact that Florida State went undefeated and won the ACC. But winning the ACC is not as big of an accomplishment as it used to be because only three ACC teams were ranked in the top 25, whereas a conference like the SEC had double that number.
These decisions will be much easier for the committee when the playoff expands to 12 teams next year.
The matchups this year will be very interesting, and all of the games should be close.
The Michigan and Alabama game will definitely be a close one. The Michigan offense is high scoring, averaging 36 points per game. This is compared to Alabama’s 35 points per game.
Michigan is trying to heal some of their offensive lineman, with a big injury to guard Zak Zinter, while the Alabama defense has a total of 39 sacks this season, for a combined loss of 263 yards.
Fox Sports predicts a win in favor of Alabama.
The Washington and Texas game will be incredibly competitive, with two very similar teams. However, this game will come down to the running backs, due to the similar passing stats of both teams. Both quarterbacks have similar passer ratings, with Micheal Penix Jr. of Washington having a 161.42 rating and Quin Ewers of Texas having a 162.63 rating.
The rushing stats of Texas are way above those of Washington. Texas has 2,729 total rushing yards this season, while Washington only has 1,816.
Fox Sports, however, still picks Washington.
The Alabama versus Michigan game will be Jan. 1, 2024, at 5 p.m. in the Rose Bowl Stadium. The Texas versus Washington game will be played the same day, at 8:45 p.m. in the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. The national championship will be Jan. 8, 2024, at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.
