As the new year begins, college football teams prepare for the end of their seasons as the initial playoff games conclude. And, as College Bowl games come to a close, the College Football Playoff Semifinals begin this week. The six-seed Ohio State Buckeyes take on the three-seed Texas Longhorns on Friday, January 10, while the five-seed Notre Dame Fighting Irish plays the four-seed Penn State Nittany Lions on Thursday, January 9.
The 12 programs who made this year’s playoffs were Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Indiana, Southern Methodist, Clemson, Notre Dame, Penn State, Boise State, Arizona State, and Ohio State. One of the four teams left standing, which include Ohio State, Notre Dame, Texas, and Penn State, look to etch their names in the history books as the first time College Football Playoff Champion of the new 12-team playoff format.
This season is also the first to implement a new format of post season play. It is a new 12-team playoff in which the four highest-ranked conference champions will be seeded 1-4 and each will receive a first-round bye. This bracket structure is much different from years past when only the top four teams in college football made the playoffs.
The Ohio State Buckeyes are led by Coach Ryan Day with a record of 10-2 with their losses coming to the Oregon Ducks and Michigan Wolverines. The Buckeyes have breezed by in the first two rounds of the playoffs by defeating Tennessee and Oregon both in blowout games where the scored more than 40 points. The Buckeyes have been led by their quarterback Will Howard, star freshman receiver Jeremiah Smith, and their stunning defense.
The Texas Longhorns are led by coach Steve Sarkisian and held a dominant regular season record of 10-2 with both losses happening to Georgia. The Longhorns blew by Clemson in the first round of the playoffs and then beat Arizona State in a double-overtime thriller with quarterback Quinn Ewers delivering a throw to receiver Matthew Golden which saved the season for Texas and cornerback Andrew Mukuba ending the game with a clutch pick off in the red zone.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished the regular season with an 11-1, only losing a thriller to a below-average Northern Illinois Huskies at the beginning of the season. From then on, the Irish have been red hot, winning every game since including a stunner versus Georgia along with a matchup against Indiana in the College Football Playoffs. Head Coach Marcus Freeman along with senior transfer quarterback Riley Leonard have led the team all season long and they look to keep that going past the semifinals.
The Penn State Nittany Lions finished the regular season with a record of 10-2, including tough losses to Ohio State and Oregon, both of which were one-score games. Penn State has dominated in the first two rounds of the playoffs defeating Southern Methodist 38-10 and Boise State 31-14. They’re led by Head Coach James Franklin and star players quarterback Drew Allar and edge rusher Abdul Carter.
To watch these teams face off in the first year of the new College Football Playoff format, make sure to tune in to ESPN on Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. On January 20 at 7:30 p.m., the winner of both these games will face each other in the College Football National Championship.
