There’s a new area to college football, the 12 team playoff. This new version of the CFP adds hope for smaller schools and allows for more competition going into the playoff in late November. The previous four team version of the playoff was for teams with perfection in their season. It did not give the teams with a weaker strength of schedule a chance to build a resume enough for the top four.
This is how the 12 team playoff is picked. If a team wins their conference championship game, they are in the playoff. This allows smaller conference teams, such as the Mountain West Conference, a chance to play. The remainder of the teams are chosen by the playoff committee. The committee chooses teams based on record, strength of schedule, and overall performance.
College Football Playoff Review
The college football playoff has been filled with great plays, endings and players. The first round of the playoff was a little underwhelming gamewise, with a lot of blowouts and high scoring games. The first game of the playoff was Notre Dame, knocking off Indiana 27-17. Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love started the playoff with a 98 yard rushing touchdown.
On Saturday January 21 there were three games, the first one taking place in Happy Valley. Penn State faced off against SMU. Penn State’s electric defense with two pick sixes was just too much for SMU, beating them 38-10 and moving on to face Boise State. I was at this game in Penn State, and the crowd was electric, forcing multiple penalties and timeouts pre-snap for SMU. SMU struggled all day with the freezing temperatures and the crowd noise.
Clemson and Texas faced off in Austin. Clemson did not have the offense to keep up with Texas. Texas won 38-24.
The final first round game had Tennessee coming up to Columbus to face Ohio State. No one knew what they would get out of Ohio State after their loss to Michigan in the last week of the season to miss the big ten championship game, but Ohio State came out firing with a huge offensive day. Star freshman wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had 103 receiving yards and two touchdowns to lead the Buckeyes to a 42-7 win against Tennessee.
New Year’s Eve kicked off the start of the second round of the playoff. The first matchup of the second round was Penn State facing off against Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl. Penn State shut down the Heisman runner up Ashton Jenty enough to hold off the Broncos. Penn State’s offense was also great. Drew Allar threw for three touchdowns and the Penn State running backs both had a great day in the backfield. Kaytron Allen had 134 yards and Nick Singleton had 87 rushing yards and a long touchdown to seal up the game. Penn State moved on to the semifinal round.
On New Year’s day, the first game was Texas taking on big 12 champion Arizona State, who just came off a huge win against Iowa state.
Arizona State was 12.5 point underdogs against the Longhorns and they played a great game with their star running back Cam Skattebo having 143 yards on the ground with two rushing touchdowns. He had 99 receiving yards and threw for 42 yards and a touchdown. The game went into double overtime with Texas winning it on a dart by quarterback Quinn Ewers in overtime.
The last game on New Year’s day was number one ranked Oregon against Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. These teams matched up earlier in the season in Oregon with Oregon winning. Ohio State came out just like they left off against Tennessee with a strong passing game. Jeremiah Smith had 187 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Ohio State won the game 41-21 in dominating fashion, moving on to face Texas in the semi final.
The final matchup of the quarterfinal was postponed to January 2nd due to the tragic terror attacks in New Orleans. Notre Dame was facing off against the SEC champion Georgia Bulldogs. Georgia’s quarterback Gunner Stockton was taking his first career start in college football against the Irish after starting quarterback Carson Beck needed UCL surgery due to an injury that took place in the SEC championship game. It was a very difficult first start for the quarterback. Notre Dame’s defense and special teams were the star against Georgia having multiple turnovers turning into points for the Irish. They also returned the opening kickoff in the second half for a touchdown. Notre Dame won 23-10 to move on to face Penn State in the semi final.
Penn State faced off against Notre Dame in the semifinal. This was the biggest game in a long time for both of these programs. Penn State started the game off strong with a touchdown run from Nick Singleton and a field goal to go up by 10. Notre Dame answered with a field goal before halftime, cutting the lead to seven going into the locker room. Notre Dame then came out of the locker room firing, putting up two rushing touchdowns putting up 17 unanswered points.
Penn State then had two touchdowns themselves, once again from Nick Singleton. Notre Dame was down by a touchdown running out of time. Notre Dame was driving down the field, throwing a deep ball two Penn State defenders fell and Jaden Greathouse scored, giving the ball back to Penn State. Penn State tried to put together a game-winning drive. Quarterback Drew Allar then made the worst decision of his collegiate career and threw an interception, giving Notre Dame the ball back with less than two minutes left. Notre Dame then drove down and kicked a game-winning field goal to take Notre Dame to the national championship.This was a heartbreaking loss for Penn State, with them being so close to a chance to play for the title.
The second semifinal game was Texas facing off against Ohio State. Ohio State was the heavy favorite coming into this game, but Texas kept it very close, only allowing the high powered Ohio State offense to score seven points in the first quarter. The second quarter was very similar to the first, with Texas getting on the board with a Jayden Blue touchdown catch and Ohio State answering with a touchdown of their own. In the third, another touchdown pass from Blue tied the game at 14. The Texas defense stepped up, not allowing any points from Ohio State. Ohio State took over in the fourth quarter starting it off with a rushing touchdown from Judkins. Texas drove down the field, bringing the biggest defensive play of the season from the Buckeyes with linebacker Jack Sawyer with the strip sack and running it back for an 83 yard fumble recovery and return, punching Ohio State’s ticket to the national championship game.
The stage was set for the national championship Ohio State playing Notre Dame in Georgia. Ohio State was the heavy favorite coming into the game after three dominant wins in their previous games. Notre Dame started the game off strong with an almost ten minute drive ending in a Riley Leonard Touchdown. Ohio State owned the second quarter with three touchdowns and did not allow Notre Dame any points. Quinshon Judkins had two rushing touchdowns, and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith had a receiving touchdown. Ohio State went into the locker room with a 21-7 lead. The Buckeyes added to their lead in the third once again with Judkins scoring a rushing touchdown followed by a field goal. Notre Dame answered with a touchdown from Jaden Greathouse and completed the two point conversion. In the fourth, Jaden Greathouse scored once more with a two point conversion, making it a one possession game. Ohio State kicked the field goal to close out the game, winning the national championship. The first year of the twelve team playoff was a huge success and will be seen in college football for years to come.
