College Football Playoff Moves to Semifinals

If you didn’t like the expanded College Football Playoff when it was first announced, perhaps this week’s quarterfinals changed your mind.

Penn State was the runner-up in the Big Ten, and in last year’s format, they would not have made the CFP. Now they are in the semifinals after wins over SMU and Boise State by a combined 35 points.

Notre Dame surely would have been left out of the CFP if it was just four teams. Instead, they have wins over Indiana and SEC champion Georgia, and Notre Dame is now two wins from its first national championship since 1988.

The Big Ten champion Oregon Ducks are one-and-done after Ohio State avenged its loss in Eugene early in the season, and Texas, a team that wasn’t even in the conference until this year, is the only SEC team still alive after it survived double overtime against Arizona State.

Not a single conference champion that received a first-round bye was a winner, and against the spread favorites finished the quarterfinals 2-2.

Notre Dame (-1.5) vs. Penn State

Orange Bowl – Thursday, January 9

Notre Dame is proving that you do not need the spotlight and the big money of playing in a top conference to get into the CFP and be successful. They have two impressive wins in what is their third trip to the College Football Playoff, and they head to Miami’s Orange Bowl as slight favorites to knock off Penn State.

In what was a close game with Georgia through the first 29 minutes, Notre Dame kicked a field goal and scored a touchdown following a strip sack in the final minute of the second quarter. They then returned the second half kickoff for a 98-yard touchdown, and from there cruised to victory.

Penn State did everything right in its win over Boise State, making Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty work for every one of his 104 rushing yards. He averaged just 3.5 yards per carry, which is half of his season average of 7.0 ypc, and the 104 yards was his lowest total since September.

On offense, Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar threw three touchdown passes, running back Kaytron Allen ran for 134 yards, and the Nittany Lions roll into the Orange Bowl having outclassed both of its CFP opponents.

Notre Dame and Penn State have played 19 times over the years, with the series tied at 9-9-1.

Ohio State (-6) vs. Texas

Cotton Bowl – Friday, January 10

No team worked harder to get to the semifinals than Texas, and no team in the country now has more respect for Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo. The Sun Devil senior ran for 143 yards, caught passes for 99 yards, and threw for 42 yards and a touchdown. The only thing he didn’t do was kick any field goals.

Skattebo and Arizona State were one play away from pulling off the upset. But facing a fourth-and-13 in the first overtime, Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers hit Matthew Golden for a 28-yard touchdown to save the game and the season, forcing the second overtime, where the Longhorns eventually won.

Texas now gets to play a de facto home game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. But because of the impressive nature of Ohio State’s win over Oregon, it is the Buckeyes who are the favorites. If ever there was a three-touchdown win that wasn’t as close as the score would indicate, this was it. At one point, Ohio State was up by 34 points, and from the very beginning of their Rose Bowl victory, there was no doubt that they were the better team.

As they head to the Cotton Bowl, bookmakers also think they are the better team in that matchup, and the best team left of the final four. Ohio State is +110 to finish the CFP as the national champion. Notre Dame is paying +360, Texas is +380, and Penn State is fourth at +475.