No one would've guessed the four teams remaining in the College Football Playoff back in the preseason.
The College Football Playoff is officially entering the semifinal stage, and the four teams that are left are not ones anyone would’ve guessed to start the season. The final four teams vying for the national title are the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers, No. 5 Oregon Ducks, No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels, and No. 10 Miami Hurricanes – precisely as everyone prognosticated.
The first round of the CFP caught a lot of flak for G5 inclusion and subsequent blowouts. No. 11 Tulane Green Wave lost 41-10 to the Rebels. No. 12 James Madison Dukes lost 51-34 to the Ducks. The No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide beat the No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners 34-24, and the Hurricanes beat the No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies 10-3.
The quarterfinals, however, showed that the CFP 12-team field can easily be open season, and no “blue blood” squad is safe. And it showed that maybe these lanes should’ve been open much longer than two seasons.
The only competitive game of the CFP semifinals on New Years Day was the Sugar Bowl between Ole Miss and the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs. The Rebels bested them 39-34. Sure, Miami only beat the No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes by 10 points in a 24-14 victory. Could you imagine if the Buckeyes essentially repeated their Big Ten title loss to the Hoosiers in the two-team era of the playoff?
Because the Hurricanes, who only snuck into the field in the final hour, have now beat two higher-ranked seeds than them – one of whom would’ve automatically been in the championship in previous formats. Even in the four-team era, the only team who made it through is Indiana. Only one of these teams also played in their conference championship game – the Hoosiers. The process is clearly not perfect in determining a champion. But Thursday made it clear that this is why the games have to be played. Oregon would’ve been left out in favor of the No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders. They whopped them 23-0.
For all the discussion about the SEC being supreme, their sole remaining representative is not who anyone would’ve guessed. It felt like the Crimson Tide very much got the SEC bump into the 12-team field. Then they faced Indiana, who controlled the tempo of the entire contest that they won 38-3.
Not a moment of the first two games on New Years Day felt competitive. Nor did most of two of the four games in the first round. Yet, that will be where most of the discourse next season is surrounded. For now, the semifinals truly feel like they could be anyone’s game, and all four competitors will have earned it. And that’s how it should feel in the College Football Playoff.