The 2nd College Football Playoff field is all set and ready to be played. Who will win it? The ACC champions in Clemson, the SEC champions in Alabama, the Big Ten champions in Michigan State, or the Big 12 champions in Oklahoma? In this post, I will go through each playoff team's season and try to predict who will win it all.
The #1-ranked team in this year's College Football Playoff is none other than the only undefeated team in the nation this season: the Clemson Tigers. Clemson was ranked 12th in the nation in the preseason. The Tigers defeated FCS Wofford 49-10 in the season opener, Appalachian State 41-10 the week after, then Louisville 20-17 the following Thursday. Clemson had chosen a good time to take a bye week because up next was #6 Notre Dame. This bye week helped the Tigers as they defeated Notre Dame 24-22 at home in "Death Valley". Yes, that's what some people call Clemson's Memorial Stadium. The Tigers climbed up to 6th in the nation after their win over Notre Dame. Three weeks later, #6 Clemson shut down Miami 58-0 down in Florida. Miami had 8 wins this season, so this really pushed Clemson up higher, into the top 5. Finally, after defeating North Carolina State 56-41 on Halloween, Clemson became number 1 in the nation, jumping ahead of Ohio State. they made sure that stayed when Heisman contender quarterback Deshaun Watson helped Clemson defeat then-#16 Florida state 23-13 in "Death Valley". That day, they won the ACC Atlantic Division and went to the ACC championship after 3 more victories. They defeated #10 North Carolina 45-37 to form an easy path to the College Football Playoff.
Number 2 in the country is the only team that has made it to both College Football Playoffs: the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide were ranked #3 in the preseason and started strong with a 35-17 win over then-#20 Wisconsin. They rolled past their second nonconference foe, Middle Tennessee State 37-10. Another ranked team came to Tuscaloosa to following week: then-#15 Ole Miss. The 2nd-ranked Tide trailed by as much 43-24 and rallied, only to lose 43-37. Alabama fell out of the top 10 and made their way back in 2 weeks later by defeating then-#8 Georgia 38-10. They just kept on rolling, cruising by then-#9 Texas A&M 41-23 and then-#2 LSU 30-16. With the help of Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry, the Tide cruised past then-#17 Mississippi State 31-6 and in-state rival Auburn 29-13. The #2 Crimson Tide breezed by #18 Florida in the SEC championship 29-15. Alabama was the only team in the preseason top 4 to make it to the College Football Playoff this season.
The #3 team that will challenge #2 Alabama in the Cotton Bowl is the Big Ten champion: the Michigan State Spartans. MSU was ranked 5th in the nation in the preseason. They have to most quality wins out of every team in the playoff this year (Sorry, Bama fans, but every ranked team you guys defeated are not in the top 15 anymore). Fifth-ranked MSU beat #7 Oregon on week 2 of the season. They got as high as #2 in the country before hanging on to beat 1-win Purdue 24-21. They struggled against Rutgers and won on a late touchdown 31-24. The Spartans fell to 7th in the country and had to play #12 Michigan (who shut out their last 3 opponents) at the Big House. With 10 seconds left in the game, all Michigan had to do was punt the ball away, but it was fumbled, recovered by Michigan State and returned all the way to the Michigan end zone. Three weeks later, the Spartans lost 39-38 to Nebraska (whom UCLA is playing against in the Foster Farms Bowl) on a controversial call (or as a friend of mine, who is a Michigan State fan, would call a "bull call"). They fell to 13th in the nation and recovered with wins over Maryland, then-#3 Ohio State, and Penn State. The Spartans clinched the Big Ten East Division and defeated then-#4 Iowa in the Big Ten Championship Game. This sealed a spot in the College Football Playoff for Michigan State.
Of all of the teams in this year's playoff, the one that we least expected to make it to the College Football Playoff was #4 Oklahoma. The Sooners were ranked 19th in the preseason. They cruised past Akron 41-3 in their season opener and defeated then-#23 Tennessee 31-24 in overtime in Knoxville, Tennessee. When they defeated then-#23 West Virginia 44-24, they climbed up to 10th in the nation. Their top-10 appearance was spoiled by Red River rival Texas 24-17. The Sooners fell back to their preseason ranking of 19th. Four consecutive 50-point victories later, 12th-ranked Oklahoma had to play against undefeated #6 Baylor. OU won 44-34 and jumped to #7 in the nation. They survived #18 TCU 30-29 in their home finale and jumped to #3 in the country. Rival Oklahoma State had just lost to Baylor and fell to 11th in the country. But Oklahoma only added salt to the wound, capturing the Big 12 title and coasting past Oklahoma State 58-23 and earning the Big 12 conference's first-ever College Football Playoff berth.
The Orange Bowl will consist of a rematch between the Clemson Tigers and the Oklahoma Sooners. Both teams played in last year's Russell Athletic Bowl. Then-#15 Clemson crushed Oklahoma 40-6. Clemson hasn't lost a game since falling to last year's Orange Bowl champion Georgia Tech 28-6 last season. Ever since the Red River Rivalry loss, Oklahoma has scored 52 points per game. Overall, they average 45.8 points per game, ranking 3rd in the nation behind Big 12 Conference rivals Texas Tech and Baylor. Clemson ranks 15th in the nation with 38.5 points per game. The Sooners rank 7th in the nation in total offense with 542.9 yards per game. The Tigers rank 12th in the country with 510.6 yards per game. On the other side of the ball, Oklahoma allows 20.8 points per game (21st in the nation) and 350.7 yards per game (31st). Clemson allows 20.2 points per game (18th) and 295.7 yards per game (7th). Oklahoma is 4th in the country in sacks per game, with 3.17 sacks per game. Clemson is 12th in that category, with 2.92 sacks per game. Personally, I think that Oklahoma will win this game.
The Cotton Bowl will host the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Michigan State Spartans. These two teams last met in the 2011 Sugar Bowl, where then-#15 Alabama crushed then-#7 Michigan State 49-7. Alabama won the next two national championship games against LSU (21-0) and Notre Dame (42-14). Before losing to Ole Miss, Alabama cruised past then-#20 Wisconsin 35-17 in their season opener and beat Middle Tennessee State 37-10. Alabama lost 42-35 in last year's College Football Playoff Sugar Bowl to eventual champion Ohio State. Michigan State had a 12-game win streak before surprisingly falling to Nebraska. Their last loss before this was a 49-37 decision against the same Ohio State team in East Lansing. MSU averages 32.1 points per game (tied for 49th in the nation) and 398.6 yards per game (68th). Alabama averages 34.1 points per game (36th) and 422.5 yards per game (49th). Defensively, Michigan State allows 20.5 points per game (T-19th) and 342.9 yards per game (26th), while Alabama allows only 14.4 points per game (3rd) and merely 258.2 yards per game (2nd). Michigan State may seem slightly over matched due to Alabama's sturdy offense (led by Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry) and the Tide's tight defense, but I think that MSU has played tougher foes and will win this game.
The National Championship will be hosted in Glendale, Arizona at University of Phoenix Stadium, home of the NFL team, the Arizona Cardinals. Will it be the Tide or the Spartans? The Tigers or the Sooners? I think that the national championship will be #3 Michigan State vs. #4 Oklahoma, like I stated in the previous two paragraphs. Oklahoma would beat Clemson 42-31 in the Orange Bowl (and avenge their big loss from last year) and Michigan State would survive Alabama 38-35 in the Cotton Bowl on another last-second field goal (just like how they beat Ohio State earlier this year). In the championship, Oklahoma would defeat Michigan State 45-24 to take the national title home to Norman, Oklahoma.
These are just my predictions for this year's College Football Playoff. Every person might have their own thoughts on this playoff. Feel free to express your thoughts and predictions on the 2nd annual College Football Playoff in the comments section and watch the College Football Playoff action begin on New Year's Eve at 1:00 PM Pacific time on ESPN, when #4 Oklahoma takes on #1 Clemson in the Orange Bowl. The Cotton Bowl (#2 Alabama vs. #3 Michigan State) will begin four hours later, after the end of the Orange Bowl, and will also be televised on ESPN.
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