College Football Playoff, Final Four Preview

The CFP Committee came to an agreement and settled on the Final Four on December 4^th:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Washington

With little skepticism on the first 3 teams, the real controversy came with the decision for the final spot, which was given to Washington over Penn State. The decision brought similar reactions across the College Football world; Penn State probably deserved to be in more than Washington, but the committee still didn’t get it necessarily wrong. It came down to the facts that Washington also won their conference title, and ended their season 11-1 to Penn State’s 10-2.

The committee’s decision is final, and the games are on New Year’s Eve once again, so here are some thoughts and picks on the Final Four games.

#4 Washington vs #1 Alabama Peach Bowl 3:00 pm ESPN

Despite all of the criticism toward the committee with their decision to put Washington in, the Huskies are still a very good football team, and have a chance to prove everyone wrong with a win December 31. Their quarterback Jake Browning was a midseason Heisman Candidate and their offense is fast paced, and filled with tall, athletic receivers. Their defense can be weak at some points but gets big turnovers when they need them. If they can slow down Alabama’s sometimes stagnant offense, and are able to protect Browning they could keep it close with the Tide. Alabama needs to keep doing what they have all season, but the playoff games often come down to coaching, and Nick Saban may be the best to ever do it in college football.

Alabama wins 32-29

#3 Ohio State vs #2 Clemson Fiesta Bowl 7:00 pm ESPN

Two offensive powers are going at it with two of the best quarterbacks in the nation on each of these teams with J.T Barrett for Ohio State and Deshaun Watson for Clemson. With their good quarterback play both of these teams lack a rushing game, but both quarterbacks are mobile and will get designed carries throughout the course of the game. Ohio State’s offensive line has struggled at times this year but J.T Barret’s mobility helps that even though Clemson has a big athletic defensive line. The one flaw this year in Deshaun Watson’s game has been his forcing of throws and turning the ball over, but he is one of the most accurate passers in the country. This game is going to come down to crucial turnovers and whichever team makes less will come out with the win.

Ohio State wins 49-46