Nearly seven years in the making, the 12-team expanded College Football Playoff made its debut on Sunday with the reveal of the final rankings.
Plenty was expected. For instance, the four highest-ranked conference champions are in the field with first-round byes, something we all knew by Saturday night: No. 1 Oregon (Big Ten), No. 2 Georgia (SEC), No. 3 Boise State (Mountain West) and No. 4 Arizona State (Big 12).
And then there’s the next group hosting first-round games: No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Penn State, No. 7 Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State. As it turns out, No. 9 Tennessee missed out on hosting by a spot and will travel to play the Buckeyes in a game slated for Saturday night in prime time on Dec. 21.
Finally, there is the final group in the field: No. 10 Indiana, No. 11 SMU and No. 12 Clemson.
Missing, of course, is Alabama, whose bubble popped with Clemson’s bid-stealing victory over SMU.
Now we know the 12 teams. Let’s talk about the 12 things that you need to know as the playoff kicks off with first-round games Dec. 20-21.
B1G time
We are often used to glorifying the SEC for its highly ranked powerhouse teams, but this year, the Big Ten is putting up quite a fight. No league is in better shape to win it all. The Big Ten’s champion is getting the No. 1 seed and a bye (Oregon), it has two teams with home games (Penn State and Ohio State) and its fourth team is in the field as the No. 10 seed (Indiana). Can the conference win back-to-back national championships? The league has the current favorite, Oregon, and the preseason favorite, Ohio State, all with somewhat advantageous routes to the title.
Pac-12 revival
Former Pac-12 teams Arizona State and Oregon won their conferences in the very first year of their membership. Maybe the Pac-12 wasn’t so bad after all? The Sun Devils and Ducks claimed Big 12 and Big Ten titles, respectively, and each will get a first-round bye into the playoffs. One of the teams on the outside looking in, Army, also won its league, the American, in its first year. The Black Knights finished 11-1 with their only loss to top-five Notre Dame. AAC commissioner Tim Pernetti said on Saturday that they should be rewarded with a playoff trip. The committee disagreed.
Ground and pound
Two of the country’s best running backs will be in the playoff field: nation-leading rusher Ashton Jeanty of Boise State and Arizona State’s Cam Skattebo, sixth nationally in rushing. They’ve combined for 4,065 rushing yards. That’s more than any other team’s total rushing stats this year. They’ve got a combined 48 touchdowns, too.
Hot streak
Perhaps no team in the playoff is on a hotter streak than Arizona State. The Sun Devils ended the season on a six-game winning streak, clobbering Iowa State in the Big 12 championship game. Led by quarterback Sam Leavitt and RB Cam Skattebo, they are averaging 37 points a game in those last six outings and went from being an afterthought at midseason to having a first-round bye into the playoffs. Want another playoff team on a tear? How about Notre Dame? The Irish ended the season having won 10 straight after the stunner of a loss to Northern Illinois in Week 3.
Cold spell
Did any playoff team have a more deflating late-season loss than the Buckeyes? Ohio State lost at home to a 7-5 Michigan team in an ugly mess of a game that ended in an on-field melee sparked by a flag-planting attempt. While the loss prevented them from competing in the Big Ten title game, Ryan Day’s team got a nice consolation prize: a weekend to rest and a first-round home game. After a fourth straight loss to Michigan, the pressure is now on for Day to beat an SEC team at Ohio Stadium to advance to a rematch with Oregon.
Big brands
One of the expressed missions of playoff expansion was to involve more teams into an event dominated by the big brands, such as Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Notre Dame. Well, three of those four are in this year’s expanded field. In fact, seven of the 12 teams in the field rank in the top 20 nationally in athletic budgets: Ohio State (No. 1), Texas (2), Penn State (5), Tennessee (11), Georgia (13), Clemson (16) and Notre Dame (as a private schools, the figures are not publicly available). But the upstarts like Indiana, SMU and Boise State are here, too!
Gunslingers
You may be surprised to know that the most productive quarterback in the playoff field is 10th nationally. That’s right — the top nine QBs, statistically, in college football aren’t in the playoff. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel is No. 10 at 273 yards a game passing. Carson Beck, whose status is very much uncertain, is No. 13. No other playoff-bound QB is in the top 20.
Bottle ’em up
Defense wins championships, right? Well, seven of the top 11 teams nationally in total defense are in the playoff field, including the top four: Ohio State (1), Indiana (2), Texas (3), Tennessee (4), Penn State (6), Notre Dame (9) and Oregon (11). The Buckeyes and coordinator Jim Knowles have done the best job. They are giving up 10.9 points a game and just 241 yards.
No place like home
One of the great things about the new expanded playoff are the four first-round home games on campus sites. Imagine a White Out in Happy Valley for a playoff game? Or how about Touchdown Jesus, postseason style? We don’t have to imagine them. We’ll be getting them. Add Ohio Stadium and Austin, Texas to that mix as well. Penn State, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas all get home field for the first round.
Pop the bubble
The Crimson Tide were the last at-large team left out of the playoff field. Bama’s bubble popped with Clemson claiming the ACC championship game over SMU. However, there’s more to it. SMU, down 17 points at halftime, roared back to tie the game only to lose on a 56-yard field goal as time expired. Would Alabama be in the field had Clemson expanded on its lead and beat SMU by multiple scores? CFP chair Warde Manuel hinted at that during a news conference after the rankings were revealed. He said the committee had “quite the debate” over SMU and Alabama and, in the end, given the way SMU played in the game, members chose the Mustangs.
Will we meet again?
Whether purposely or not, the committee avoided first-round rematches and conference-versus-conference matchups. It’s a wise move. In fact, only one possible quarterfinal rematch exists: No. 8 Ohio State vs. No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl, if the Buckeyes beat Tennessee at home. In October, Oregon beat Ohio State in Eugene after a dramatic finish.
Best matchup
How can we not pick the in-state duel between the Fighting Irish and the Hoosiers? Curt Cignetti looks to continue one of the college football’s best stories in South Bend. Kickoff for that game is Friday night, Dec. 20 — it is the first on-campus playoff game in college football history. Buckle up!
