The opening week of an expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) was somewhat anti-climactic. All of the home teams won relatively easily, and all of the higher-seeded teams advanced to the second round. Notre Dame dominated the Indiana Hoosiers, and Ohio State raced past Tennessee.
This week, we have some potential upsets brewing on the slate and a rematch of two teams quickly becoming conference rivals. First, let’s look back to last week before we answered a few questions moving forward in the second round of the CFP.
Recap of College Football Playoff’s 1st round upset pick: SMU vs. Penn State
The SMU offense couldn’t sort things out before it was too late in the contest. They spotted Penn State 14 quick points off turnovers and squandered a fourth down stop in Nittany Lions territory that was all for naught.
SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings never looked comfortable in the pocket. That’s attributed to the Penn State defensive front led by Abdul Carter. Jennings was constantly under pressure. And as a result, he threw multiple interceptions. His first was a risky throw that landed in the arms of PSU linebacker Dominic DeLuca, who ran it back for a score to give Penn State the early 7-0 lead.
Jennings later threw another pick-six, this time to PSU linebacker Tony Rojas, to put SMU behind by two scores. Jennings had some opportunities in the passing game. However, he couldn’t connect with his receivers early on critical downs and the mistakes compiled before SMU could respond to make it a contest.
On the contrary, SMU put a lot of pressure on Drew Allar. Still, he did a great job of navigating collapsing pockets to keep his offense on schedule and allow running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton to handle the rest. Penn State had a dominant win in the opening round of the CFP.
What stood out to you most about the teams in the first round?
The balance of power stands out the most. The CFP was expanded to give more teams a chance to prove themselves on a bigger stage for a shot at the national championship when, for years, they were kept out of fear of getting trounced by elite powerhouses. Last week was the example where everyone could make their case reasonably. Unfortunately for teams like SMU and Indiana, the chasm of talent between them and their opponents revealed itself.
The games weren’t as competitive as some in the committee may have expected. Homefield advantage also played a factor.
Texas had a more challenging time with Clemson. However, Clemson had been surging as of late and has a pretty good roster to compete with the likes of the SEC and other teams in the CFP. This week puts teams like Boise State and Arizona State under the microscope. Yet fortunately for them, they’ll play on a neutral site where it’ll truly be about the 22 players on the field and their coaches.
Which top-4 team benefited the most last week?
Arizona State has the best spot in the bracket as a top-4 team. They would’ve faced the lowest seed in the bracket or a Texas team with work to do to tighten up loose ends. Over the last two games, Texas has been inconsistent, allowing opponents to draw close late. It cost them the SEC title and could have cost them against Clemson. Quinn Ewers doesn’t look like himself since his ankle injury, and the Texas offense doesn’t look as efficient. Their loss to Georgia in the SEC title game was because they couldn’t close.
Last week, Texas had a 21-point lead they nearly squandered before putting away Clemson in the fourth quarter. This week, Texas takes on a Sun Devils team that are a feisty, resilient group. They will risk everything at a moment’s notice, and they could be catching the Longhorns at just the right time before they can gather themselves. A win for Arizona State sets them up to face either Oregon or Ohio State, but they have as smooth a path to the CFP title game as possible.
Game of the Week: Oregon vs. Ohio State
We get a rematch of one of the best college football games that went down to the closing seconds the last time these two teams played. Oregon versus Ohio State should have been the Big 10 title game, and possesses the star power to be a national title game.
Ohio State and Oregon are arguably the two best teams in the nation. Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel is having another stellar year in what’s been a terrific collegiate career. Though early in his tenure as Oregon’s head coach, Dan Lanning has built a contender through the transfer portal. Jabbar Muhammad is a lockdown corner that will make for an exciting matchup against any of Ohio State’s terrific receivers, Emeka Egbuka or Jeremiah Smith. Oregon’s front is tough. They anchored Derrick Harmon inside and Bryce Boettcher and Matayo Uiagalelei behind them.
However, everyone knows Ohio State’s running backs are an exceptional duo with TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins. Quarterback Will Howard was lights out against Tennessee last week, completing 82 percent of his passes for over 300 yards.
Meanwhile on defense, JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer will be in hot pursuit to slow down Gabriel and the Ducks’ offense.
Howard is my choice for CFP MVP, and he’s gonna need a legacy-defining performance to win against the Ducks. This is the marquee game of the second round.
Upset special: Arizona State over Texas
Although Boise State has one of the best offensive players in the country in Ashton Jeanty, Cam Skattebo is an overlooked talent as a running back in the college football landscape.
The senior has accumulated over 2000 yards from scrimmage. Texas needs to rally to the ball to make sure they get him down to the ground. Arizona State’s freshman quarterback is also pretty good.
Sam Leavitt was highly effective this year, throwing 24 touchdowns against five interceptions, and was named the Big 12 freshman of the year. He also had a little help with receiver Jordyn Tyson. The transfer from Colorado totaled over 1000 yards receiving and is Levitt’s top weapon in the passing game.
How Texas handled Clemson last week raises concerns that the Longhorns can handle all these scoring threats for the Sun Devils. Again, Texas has to finish games.
Arizona State played several tight games to make its way into the Big 12 conference title game and ultimately the No. 4 seed of the CFP. A spread of 11.5 seems too much of a gap for a team that can move the ball through the air and on the ground. Forks up, and the Sun Devils move on to the final four in the College Football Playoff.
