College playoffs looks for good matchups after snoozy first round of blowouts

 

[December 23, 2024]  By EDDIE PELLS

For those who dozed through it, or flipped to more compelling fare in the NFL, here's a brief recap of the rollout of the much-anticipated College Football Playoff.

Average final score: Winners 36, Losers 17.

In four games, not a single one was closer than a 10-point margin, and even that one felt worse. In 240 minutes of action spread across those four games, there was a grand total of one lead change.

This bold, new experiment was supposed to bring more programs from more parts of the country into the loop of a largely regional sport that had been dominated by about a half-dozen teams for the last decade.

Instead, it will take another 10 days to find out if “more” really means more — or if more just means a few weeks of what we just saw before arriving at what we had before — a group of four contenders battling it out for a title that only they had any realistic chance to win.

One part that did feel like a success was that the stands were full in all four stadiums — at Texas, Notre Dame, Penn State and Ohio State.

“I think college football got this one right,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said after the Longhorns beat Clemson 38-24 in front of a packed house in what turned out to be the weekend's most compelling game. “As much as we critique some of the things that are happening in our game right now, this idea of a home playoff game with this 12-team format, this was pretty special.”

The TV ratings will paint a fuller picture, especially of the decision to run directly against two NFL games, both of which came down to the fourth quarter.

Could the quarterfinals bring more of the same?

The quarterfinals come over the New Year's holiday, where we'll get more clarity not only about who might win the title, but whether the CFP as it is structured is as good as it can be. The matchups (and issues involved in all of them):

Fiesta Bowl, Dec. 31, No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State: The rules called for the four highest-ranked conference champions to receive first-round byes, and so you get this. Penn State is the worse seed but is a 10 1/2-point favorite over the Mountain West Conference champions. Boise State has the nation's leading rusher in Ashton Jeanty. Penn State is probably bigger and faster at every other position.

Peach Bowl, Jan. 1, No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State: See above for thoughts about byes, potential mismatches and pairings that might have made more sense had they come earlier. Texas is a 13 1/2-point favorite. But, the Sun Devils of the Big 12 are the closest thing this tournament has to a Cinderella — in win-or-you're-done territory since Nov. 2, and with a pair of eminently entertaining players in quarterback Sam Leavitt and running back Cam Skattebo.

Rose Bowl, Jan. 1, No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon: Had the rule-makers chosen to reseed the bracket after the first round to give Oregon a game against the highest-seeded team left, this would have been the matchup anyway. But do we really want a rematch of possibly the best game in college football this season — Oregon's 32-31 win over Ohio State in October — in the quarterfinals?

Sugar Bowl, Jan. 1, No. 7 Notre Dame at No. 2 Georgia: Reports are that Bulldogs quarterback Carson Beck might be done for the season after hurting his elbow in the SEC title game. The selection committee was supposed to consider injuries in its rankings, but probably didn't have enough information to make an informed decision at the time. Long ago, in a galaxy far away, Georgia beat Notre Dame in the 1981 Sugar Bowl to capture its second national title.

Ohio State offensive lineman Donovan Jackson, center, celebrates after a touchdown against Tennessee during the second half in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

The transfer portal chips away at rosters

The transfer portal will (thankfully?) close Dec. 28, meaning the steady trickle of departures from teams with title hopes will not infiltrate the headlines as we head into football's elite eight.

But this entire setup is awkward. Arizona State lost 12 players to the portal after it opened on Dec. 9. Tennessee lost 11. The highest-profile departure was Penn State backup quarterback Beau Pribula. Whether these players would've been on the field much (they wouldn't, which is probably why some left) almost seems beside the point.

For decades, playing to win a championship was thought to be the north star for any elite athlete. Or so we thought. There is a lot of money available, and it's also not hard to blame a player for trying to max out his earning potential in the new world of college football endorsements.

“I think everybody that follows the sport understands that it’s a unique time of year,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “I’m not in charge of that. Do I think they need to find a way to go through all the processes that they have right now, or things that are in the game but find a better calendar for it? Yeah, I think that would be best for the game for sure.”

Deion not in the playoffs but his stars will be playing

There are another 28 bowl games remaining that will have no implication on the national title. Maybe the best one is Dec. 28 when Heisman winner Travis Hunter and Colorado face BYU in the Alamo Bowl.

There's nothing particularly big on the line here, but there is a message being sent.

Colorado has two first-round draft picks on the roster in Hunter and the coach's son, quarterback Shedeur Sanders. Normally, they wouldn't find themselves anywhere near this game, for fear an injury could derail their pro prospects.

But they will play. Coach Deion Sanders has shouldered his share of criticism for being the face of a largely transactional, money-driven NIL era. But his ability to steer his best two players to find meaning in a game with no stakes is as old-school as it gets, and the exact opposite of the transfer portal mess.

“It’s not just a bowl game where we’re going to go be merry and have a Merry Christmas and exchange gifts and do all of that,” the coach explained. “No, we want to go there and play Buff football."

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