The first two rounds of the new 12 team College Football Playoff have ended, lining up for a very interesting Final Four, as well as a chance to reflect on some of the decisions made when first creating the seeding system.
So far, seven out of the eight playoff games have been blowouts by a margin of 10 or more, with the lone outlier being Arizona State’s attempted comeback against Texas, which ended in an eight-point win for Texas.
One of the most surprising things going into the semifinal is that none of the teams that are in it were one of the first-round bye conference champions. In fact, not a single conference champion is left standing in the semifinal, showing that the selection committee’s decision to give them their bye and automatic seed was flawed.
The overall goal of the 12 team playoff has been fulfilled. It gave teams that would miss the four team playoff a chance to make the national championship. This is shown by the fact that Penn State and Ohio State were outside of the top four end of season rankings and wouldn’t have made the semifinal during the four team system.
Overall, this year’s playoff was a great experiment, and it completed some of its goals. With a few minor tweaks, like giving spots to the actual top 12, it has the potential to be great.
Looking at the upcoming two games, there is a potential for some very close and competitive matchups, unlike those we have already had in this playoff.
The first of the remaining playoff games will be the Orange Bowl between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Both of these teams have dominated the playoffs so far, but Penn State’s opponents haven’t been as good as those that Notre Dame has had to deal with.
Penn State has beaten SMU and Boise State, two teams that are arguably the worst that made the playoff, despite the #3 seed for Boise State but that is a story for another time. Notre Dame on the other hand has had to fight against the reigning SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs and the incredibly feisty Indiana Hoosiers.
The next matchup is the Cotton Bowl between Texas and Ohio State. Ohio State’s lightning speed in the first half killed all of their opponents so far, and Texas showed their lack of stamina in the second half against Arizona State, blowing a massive lead and having to go to overtime.
The Cotton Bowl champion will be whatever team gets out to an early lead first, and with how the games have gone so far, it looks like Ohio State will be in the National Championship.
The Orange Bowl will be Jan. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and the Cotton Bowl will be Jan. 10 at 7:30 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN.
