A Look Towards the College Football Playoffs
By Brooke Brottman
The College Football Playoff matches the No. 1 ranked team vs. the No. 4, and the No. 2 vs. the No. 3 in semifinal games that rotate annually among six bowl games. These include the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Allstate Sugar Bowl, and Rose Bowl Game. The College Football Playoffs is an event that is typically planned at least a year in advance. However, this season may look slightly different than in years past due to the global pandemic. This season's Playoff Semifinals will take place Friday, January 1, 2021, at the Rose Bowl Game and the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The College Football Playoff National Championship will be Monday, January 11, 2021, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Since the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to disrupt or end the season at any moment, each game matters more than ever before. So, what will be different about College Football this year?
The playoff committee this year will have to judge a contender that might have played fewer games because of the virus. They will have to consider losses where multiple key players were missing because of the virus. Each of the Power Five conferences has amended a schedule for the 2020 season that either removes non-conference games entirely or, in the case of the ACC and Big 12, allows for one non-conference game. The Pac-12 conference will get the latest start beginning on November 14, and they are playing a seven-game conference-only schedule, followed by the Pac-12 Football Championship Game. The Big Ten will play an eight-game conference-only college football schedule for the 2020 season, the ACC is playing an 11-game schedule for the 2020 college football season, and teams will play 11 games including ten conference games and one non-conference. It’s important to note that Notre Dame is also playing a ten-game conference schedule and is eligible for the ACC Championship Game. The Big 12 is playing ten games this season, including nine conference games and one non-conference game, and the SEC conference is playing a ten-game, conference-only schedule for this season.
The Clemson Tigers can still qualify for the College Football Playoff, after their loss this past Saturday to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who are now the front-runner in the ACC. Clemson and Notre Dame are expected to play each other one more time in the ACC Championship Game. The path for the ACC to put both Clemson and Notre Dame in the playoffs got clearer on Saturday, with the Georgia Bulldogs suffering their second loss of the season to the Florida Gators. Notre Dame, the Alabama Crimson Tide, and the Ohio State Buckeyes are the favorites to advance to the playoff. If Clemson beats the Irish in their second meeting, both teams could receive playoff positions. With that perspective put into play, the Cincinnati Bearcats, BYU Cougars, Oregon Ducks, and a few others have to hope for a second Notre Dame win over Clemson to clear a path for the No. 4 seed.
Justin Fields and the Ohio State Buckeyes are steamrolling opponents this year (USA TODAY Sports)
For the first time since last year’s national championship game, the Clemson Tigers are not the favorite in the 2021 college football national championship odds. Clemson’s 36-game winning streak for the regular season was snapped Saturday when they lost in double overtime to Notre Dame 47-40. However, this loss will not ruin Clemson’s College Football Playoff hopes, as the Tigers were without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence due to the coronavirus. The CFP committee should be able to overlook a team’s loss if it is missing arguably the best player in college football and I think that Clemson will still be a part of the CFP final four this year. With Clemson losing and both Alabama and Ohio State continuing to win, both the Tide and Buckeyes have jumped into the top two spots in all of college football. That being said, Alabama should obtain the No. 1 seed with Ohio State at No. 2. With Notre Dame defeating Clemson they have moved up to No. 3, while Clemson has dropped to the No. 4 seed.
Unlike the BCS championship that was played in years past to determine the best team in the country, the participating teams in the College Football Playoff National Championship are determined by two semi-final bowls, and the winner of each semifinal advances to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. This has caused a unique impact in that no No. 1 or No. 3 seed had won the National Championship in its first five years, as LSU became the first No. 1 seed to win the championship in 2019. Previously, the No. 1 team lost three times in the title game: Clemson (2015 season), Alabama (2016 season), and Alabama (2018 season). The No. 2 team has been the most successful thus far, as that team has won three times: Alabama (2015 season), Clemson (2016 season), and Clemson (2018 season). We will see who comes out on top this season, and who will be crowned as a champion.
You can follow Brooke on Twitter @Brottman_10.
