The 12 participating teams were narrowed down to the final four.
After an engaging round of quarterfinals, the final four teams remaining in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff have been determined. No. 5 seed Texas will play No. 8. ohio He finished 7th at the Cotton Bowl. notre dame cathedral They qualified to play against No. 6 Penn State in the Orange Bowl. Penn State and Notre Dame will play on January 9th, and Texas and Ohio State will play on January 10th.
how do we SB Nation Would you rank the final four in terms of probability of winning it all?
Let's dive in.
4. Texas
For the first 30 minutes of the Peach Bowl, everything was going according to plan for Texas. The Longhorns built a 17-3 lead at the halftime break. arizona Running back Cam Skatebo had just 45 rushing yards and it looked like Texas would advance to the semifinals.
And then the second half happened.
Skatebo and company were full of life, and Skatebo's touchdown run and subsequent two-point conversion tied the game with five minutes left. Texas kicker Bert Auburn missed two field goals late in the game, and what at one point appeared to be a blowout game suddenly went into overtime.
The Longhorns got the win, but the road gets tougher from here. They will now face an Ohio State team that looked like the best team in the nation after a dominant performance against Oregon. Can Texas win? of course. But defeating the Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl will require a complete performance on both sides of the football.
3. Pennsylvania State University
In my mind, there are two versions of Penn State. One appears in the first half, with QB Drew Aller throwing a flaming pitchfork into the opposing secondary, the run game firing on all cylinders and the fast defense running to the ball. 11 positions. The second half felt even more disjointed, with the Nittany Lions slowing down their passing game and Boise State finding holes in their passing game as superstar EDGE Abdul Carter was hampered by an injury. Carter's injury and how close he gets to 100% will have a big impact on whether the Nittany Lions can win the title, but if Aller continues to play in the first half, Penn State will There is a possibility of winning.
What to watch for their future: Boise State had a lot of success blitzing Aller State and Penn State, largely because they didn't know how to blitz. This doesn't bode well heading into Notre Dame, a team poised to play an upset game against Penn State.
2. Notre Dame Cathedral
Notre Dame earned an Orange Bowl berth with a solid defensive performance against Georgia.
Things will get tougher next week against Penn State, but Notre Dame showed off its ability to target the passer in Thursday's Sugar Bowl. RJ Oben's strip sack of Gunnar Stockton near the end of the first half was crucial, as Notre Dame put up 10 points late in the second quarter. Jaden Harrison's kickoff return touchdown to start the third quarter provided momentum for Notre Dame's 23-10 victory.
To beat Penn State, the offense will need to step up its game, but as mentioned earlier, Notre Dame's ability to bring pressure will be a big factor thanks to the roadmap Boise State set in the Fiesta Bowl. There is a possibility that
1. Ohio
Please remember the ending of happy gilmore, When did Happy Gilmore learn to putt?
Ohio State's 41-21 performance over Oregon State on Wednesday felt like that.
When the Buckeyes lost to Michigan at the end of the regular season and lost a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game to Ohio State, Ryan Day and his offensive staff relied too much on the inside run game, which led to the loss. It has been weakened by. Center Seth McLaughlin injured his Achilles tendon, which posed a challenge given the strength of Michigan's defensive tackles, but struggled to get by on the edge. Additionally, the passing game was shaky at best, with Will Howard throwing two interceptions, likely prompting the decision to go for the rushing offense.
In Wednesday's game against the Ducks, Ohio State had success with both its perimeter run game and passing attack.
Add in what Dillon Gabriel and the Oregon State offense were able to do with defensive coordinator Jim Knowles' three-safety look, and you have a team that truly looks like the best in the nation right now.
