On Sunday afternoon, the College Football Playoff committee announced the inaugural 12 team playoff field. Here’s some initial thoughts on each opening round matchup.
#10 Indiana at #7 Notre Dame on 12/20 at 8pm (winner plays UGA in Sugar):
This is most intriguing first round matchup for me. Two schools from the Hoosier state that are separated by 200 miles are going to kick off the playoffs. However, these two programs’ histories could not be farther apart. Notre Dame is one of the blue bloods in the history of college football, and Indiana has had a Cinderella season with first-year Head Coach, Curt Cignetti. Notre Dame is the clear favorite here, but both teams have something to prove. Indiana needs to make a statement that they did not just feast on the weaker Big 10 teams en route to the playoffs. Notre Dame has been able to overcome being upset byNorthern Illinois, but the Fighting Irish has not fared well in the postseason in years past. The winner of this one will be setup to play the SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day.
#11 SMU at #6 Penn State on 12/21 at 12pm (winner plays Boise State in Fiesta)
Penn State really lucked out losing to Oregon. The Nittany Lions avoided being on the same side of the bracket as Oregon, Ohio State, and Texas. The Big 10 runners-up also got a really good draw in SMU. The Mustangs selection as the last team in proved to be controversial. In my opinion, they committee got it right in putting the more deserving SMU over some better eye test teams such as Alabama, South Carolina, or Ole Miss. Nonetheless, Penn State has looked to be the much better team over the course of the year. With a white out scheduled in Happy Valley, I expect the Nittany Lions to win big and play the Mountain West Champs, Boise State, in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Eve.
#12 Clemson at #5 Texas on 12/21 at 4pm (winner plays Arizona State in Peach)
How ‘bout them Tigers? Clemson was able to hang on against SMU and find themselves in the CFP. It has been an eventful year for the ACC Champs, and it doesn’t get any easier for them as they head to Austin for the first round. The Longhorns got beat by Georgia for the second time this season in the SEC Championship Game and were arguably the better team in Atlanta. There’s no argument that they clearly have been better than the Tigers in 2024. However, Clemson was able to play some of their best football of the season against SMU. With Cade Klubnik returning to his hometown, could the Tigers pull off what would likely be the biggest upset of the first round? I don’t think so, but Clemson is shushing a lot of their doubters, me included. The winner of this one will head back to Atlanta to take on the Big 12 Champs, Arizona State, in the quarterfinals.
#9 Tennessee at #8 Ohio State on 12/21 at 8pm (winner plays Oregon in Rose)
There may be some more interesting storylines off the field in other matchups, but this is by far the best on-field matchup in the opening round. These two programs are also similar in many ways. The Vols, one of the best teams in their conference, could not overcome the SEC Champs (UGA) in the regular season and suffered a devastating loss against a subpar conference opponent(Arkansas). The same sentence could be written about the Buckeyes, suffering losses against Oregon and Michigan. I think this game will be won, or lost, by the respective quarterbacks on each side. RS Senior Will Howard of Ohio State has been really good at times, but when he has been off, he has been very bad. On the other side, Tennessee’s RS Freshman QB Nico Iamaleava has given Vols fans hope and also devastated them a couple of times as well. QB play and coaching, just like a lot of postseason matchups, will be the difference in Columbus. The winner will head to Pasadena to take on the Big 10 Champion Oregon Ducks on New Year’s Day.
