Starting with 12 teams and ending with one, the brand new college football playoff has taken the sports world by storm. Over the past two weeks, we have seen some great games. From watching the Ducks in Oregon get destroyed by Ohio State, to Georgia falling to Notre Dame, Penn State holding a top ten offense in Boise State to only 14, and an overtime thriller at Arizona state that Texas won by on a last play interception, this post season has been great for college football.
Now, only four teams remain. The Ohio State Buckeyes, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Texas Longhorns, and Penn State Nittany Lions.
The first matchup, the Orange Bowl, is on Thursday, January 9., at 7:30 p.m.
This game hosts two very similar teams, who focus on running the ball and strong defensive play. Scoring is going to be important, and it seems that Penn State has been able to score against just about everyone. Bolstered by versatile tight end Tyler Warren and the running back tandem of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, this team will be hard to stop.
The Fighting Irish however have their own weapons, running back Jeremiyah Love has been a problem for teams all year, and their defense has been very strong. Xavier Watts has been a ballhawk all season, and no one seems to get past their leading tackler Jack Kiser.
This game will have to be won by the quarterbacks. Notre Dame’s Riley Leonard has been an electric game changer, being able to make plays on his feet and in the air, and it seems like Notre Dame rides on him to be their “IT” factor player. Penn State’s quarterback, Drew Allar, is also a game changer, being able to sling the football deep whenever he gets the chance.
I think this game ends in a close one, but with Penn State coming out on top. I don’t think either team will be able to run the ball the way they usually do, and if that’s the case, Drew Allar’s arm will be the reason they move on.
In the second game, the Cotton Bowl, which will be on TV Friday, January 10., at 7:30 p.m. will feature two high powered, explosive offenses, both with high caliber receivers and quarterbacks.
Unlike the Orange bowl, I think this game will be very high scoring. When you have a game featuring some of the best prospects for the NFL, and two quarterbacks who have been playing at a high level, that’s what you will get.
Ohio State’s defense will be how they win this game. Safety Caleb Downs and the interior lineman will have to be able to shutdown Ewers, Bond, and any running game Texas tries to develop.
For Texas, they will have to find a way to stop Ohio State from scoring. Somehow the Texas defensive backs will have to find a way to shutdown Egbuka and Smith, who have both been unstoppable to this point in the year.
Texas’ slow starts have been their downfall as of late, and I think it happens once more here, and leads to Ohio State having a huge lead by half, and finishing out the game on top.
This would mean a Penn State vs Ohio state rematch in the National Championship, and I can’t wait to see how these games play out.
