Less than 36 hours away from the resumption of the Expanded College Football Playoff, so let’s reset the stage here. We’re down to a quarterfinal, so everything that happens here will be heralded as the first time(s) ever in a FBS quarterfinal. We’re down thank TNT for their service. All remaining games are on ESPN.
New Year’s Eve night, gives us our first quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Listed start time is 7:30pm eastern. The Faculty has supported James Franklin to date, and they will get a trip to Tempe to see #3 (6)Penn State to play Heisman runner-up Ashton Jeanty and #9 (3)Boise State. This is the game the Broncos have always wanted: a game against a power team with national championship-level stakes. It may be against a B+ program but it would be an A+ win, at least that’s what the line says with a 11.5-point spread favoring Penn State. SMU had trouble with cold and the faculty as they were dispatched 38-10.
New Year’s Afternoon brings us the quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl where Cam Skattebo and #12 (4)Arizona State, the surprise winners of the Big 12, lying in wait for the team they replaced in the conference, #3 (5)Texas. The Longhorns put away the ACC Champion Clemson Tigers 38-24, in what was the most competitive first round matchup. Not saying much. Texas makes a return trip to Atlanta, losing in the SEC title game. And they’re the biggest favorite at 13-points. Huge line. Arizona State may be wishing they didn’t get 4 weeks off. Listed kickoff is 1pm.
On New Year’s late afternoon, hopefully you’ve shaken off your hangovers, because at 5pm it will be the Granddaddy of them all - the Rose Bowl Game presented by Prudential. And it’s the highly anticipated rematch - they may be conference rivals now, but two programs very familiar with Pasadena. #6 (8)Ohio State looks for revenge against the only undefeated team in FBS, #1 (1)Oregon, who won the earlier matchup 32-31 in Eugene, aided by a clock management blunder. That’s been taken into account as Ohio State is favored by 2.5. They had to go through Tennessee to do it, and the Vols surely got laughed all the way back to Knoxville. But the test should be much tougher with Heisman finalist Dillon Gabriel on the other side. And nobody is talking about him with the draft.
On New Year’s Night, the quarterfinals conclude at the All State Sugar Bowl. Last we saw #2 (2)Georgia, they were forced throw Gunnar Stockton into the deep end of the pool, and the Dawgs pulled out the SEC Championship against Texas. It’s not his team as Carson Beck is out for the season, and declared for the draft. He will be the first QB to make his first career start in the College Football Playoff - Expanded or otherwise - and it will be against the Golden Domers: #5 (7)Notre Dame, who ended Indiana’s Cinderella run rather decisively and had Lane Kiffin all worked up. The Irish opened as favorites, that has now switched to a 1-point line favoring Georgia.
