College Football Playoff games: Predictions, storylines for Orange, Cotton Bowl semifinal matchups

It is a blue blood Final Four in the College Football Playoff semifinals. The teams left standing — 6-seed Penn State, 7-seed Notre Dame, 8-seed Ohio State and 5-seed Texas — have combined for 20 national championships.

That accounts for almost a quarter of the national titles in the wire service era (since 1936). You’re excused if you haven’t noticed because some of you weren’t born. Ohio State is the most recent title winner (2014). Before that, it was Texas in 2005. Notre Dame is still chasing the dragon from 1988. Penn State’s two championships came in 1982 and 1986. 

None of the four remaining teams won their conference. No conference championship? No problem. 

Texas is the highest remaining seed. There’s no way Ohio State should be seeded eighth. Suddenly, seventh-seeded Notre Dame seems like the bracket’s cuddly underdog. 

That’s one way to look at it. Here’s another: The SEC is on the clock. If Texas loses the Cotton Bowl to Ohio State, the SEC will be out of the championship game for the second consecutive season. 

Ohio State is the hottest team in the field but still is internalizing its own special angst of not being able to win the big one on the heels of a fourth straight loss to rival Michigan to close the regular season. 

Hottest? Hang on because Notre Dame may want to have a word. The Irish have shed themselves of the torment from the Northern Illinois loss. The 12-game winning streak since then is the longest in the country.

If defense wins championships, then Marcus Freeman has this thing figured out. The 62.5 rushing yards per game is the best in the playoff. Defensive coordinator Al Golden has allowed the two playoff opponents — Indiana and Georgia — only 61 plays each. The Irish have held the ball…

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Author : Dennis Dodd

Publish date : 2025-01-07 17:44:00

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