Predicting College Football Playoff's First Round Games

by Eric Fulton
A new era for college football kicks off this weekend with a new format to determine a national champion. On Friday (Dec. 20) and Saturday (Dec. 21), there will be four games in the opening round of the College Football Playoff. Seeds 5-12 will play the first four games. Then, in late December, the top four seeds will play in the second round against the winners of the first round.

​The four teams with a bye for the first round of the College Football Playoff are Oregon, Georgia, Boise State and Arizona State.

For this article, we will solely focus on the first-round matchups. 

​10. Indiana @ 7. Notre Dame – Friday, Dec. 20 at 7 pm (CST) - ABC/ESPN
A rare matchup between two in-state schools kicks off the inaugural 12-team playoff. Although these two in-state schools first played each other in 1898, Indiana and Notre Dame have met only 29 times, with the last meeting coming in 1991. Notre Dame has a record of 23-5-1 all-time against Indiana.  While the Fighting Irish is Indiana's big, powerful football school, the Hoosiers are having a special year, going 11-1 under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. While Notre Dame is the heavy favorite, this would be the biggest win in program history for Indiana. As special a win as it would be for Indiana, I will have to go with the experience of Notre Dame.

11. SMU @ 6. Penn State – Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 am (CST) - TNT/Max
SMU and Penn State will kick off the tripleheader of playoff games on Saturday in Happy Valley. Both teams lost their perspective conference championship games and are looking for a huge bounce-back. Offense will be key in this game, as both teams like to score. So, it could come down to whoever scores last. I like Penn State to defend Beaver Stadium's home grounds.

12. Clemson @ 5. Texas – Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3 pm (CST) - TNT/Max
The Tigers and Longhorns will square off in the battle of orange in Austin. Clemson, who won the ACC Championship, has been playing well behind quarterback Cade Klubnik as of late and will come into the matchup against Texas with a ton of momentum. Despite losing to Georgia in the SEC Championship game, the Longhorns are still an excellent team led by quarterback Quinn Ewers. While this game will be another close game early, I think Texas will pull this one out late in the fourth quarter and move on to the second round.

9. Tennessee @ 8. Ohio State – Saturday, Dec. 21 at 7 p.m. (CST) – ABC/ESPN
This is the best matchup of all the first-round games in the College Football Playoff. These two teams have a rich tradition in college football. The Volunteers and Buckeyes could go on a deep run if they play well. If they won the Big Ten Championship, Ohio State would have had an inside track to have a higher seed, possibly the number one overall. However, the Buckeyes' loss to Michigan on November 30th was a significant cause for concern, thanks to their conservative style of play on offense. I expect a better game from Ohio State with the time off. However, I can see Tennessee go to Columbus and play exceptionally well, even though the game time temps will be around the 20s. I say Tennessee takes this one, and they will have a date against Oregon in the second round.

These four first-round games should be very exciting and fun to watch. The National Championship game will be held on Monday, January 21st, in Atlanta.