“Who’s In?” That’s the question that ESPN has been hammering into our minds all season regarding the entrants for the first College Football Playoff. Now we know. Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State will be the title contenders this year. Let’s take a closer look at each team.
#1 Alabama is the SEC champion, and perhaps even more impressive, the SEC West champion, as that division had every single member reach bowl eligibility this year. Overcoming a loss to Ole Miss (the only team of the four to have a loss on the road), the Crimson Tide made its way through the rest of the SEC schedule unscathed, including beating four straight top-20 SEC opponents at one point. The defense was its usual self, finishing 11th in overall defense, 2nd in rushing defense, and 4th in scoring defense. Offensively, however, Alabama was also potent, finishing 16th in total offense and scoring offense. This gives Alabama the distinction of being the only one of the four with a top-20 scoring offense and defense. One other factor: Alabama finished 2nd in the country in net punting, so in a field position battle, the Crimson Tide likes its chances.
#2 Oregon comes into the playoff as the Pac-12 champion. The Ducks achieved a measure of revenge against Arizona in the Pac-12 title game, avenging an early home loss with a 51-13 win. As usual, offense is the Ducks’ specialty. Led by Heisman Trophy favorite Marcus Mariota, the Quack Attack finished 3rd overall in scoring offense and total offense, 20th in rushing offense, and 11th in passing offense. Their defense finished 80th overall in total defense, which isn’t particularly great, but a respectable 29th overall in scoring defense. Considering the wide open offenses in the Pac-12, that’s not too bad; the Ducks make stops when they need to. Also, the Ducks finished tied for 1st in passes intercepted against, with just 2 all season. When Mariota puts the ball in the air, it’s safe.
#3 Florida State is a statistical anomaly. The ACC champions are the only undefeated team left in the country, at 13-0. Yet their margin of victory (11.8 points) is by far the smallest of the four schools. Their offense and defense are good, not great (29th overall in scoring offense, 30th overall in scoring defense); they don’t rank in the top five in any major team statistical category. Their opponents, however, may have something to do with that; Florida State’s 13 opponents have the most wins between them (83) of any of the four schools’ opposition. Florida State also played what might be considered the most daunting of the nonconference schedules, at least in name: how’s Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, and Florida sound? None of the other three playoff teams currently owns three nonconference wins over bowl-eligible opponents (although Ohio State will also be able to claim this if Navy beats Army on Saturday).
#4 Ohio State used a win over Wisconsin that was as surprising as it was dominant to vault into the final spot in the top 4. The Big Ten champions lost in their second game to Virginia Tech (the only loss between the four teams to a school with less than nine wins on the season), but swept through the conference schedule unbeaten, with just two of the games decided by single digits. The Buckeyes have the widest margin of victory of the four (24 points per game), rank 4th overall in scoring offense, 8th in total offense, 11th in rushing offense, and 2nd in team passing efficiency. Their defense is ranked 15th overall in total defense and 23rd in scoring defense, so the Buckeyes aren’t exactly bad on the other side of the ball, either. They also have the distinction of being the only team of the four to have beaten another conference champion; Cincinnati earned a share of the American Athletic Conference title this year.
One final note of interest: one of the four teams has been a championship game participant in every year but one since 2006 (Ohio State ’06, ’07; Alabama ’09, ’11, ’12; Oregon ’10; Florida State ’13). Suffice to say it will be a compelling set of games.
Congratulations to Liquid Heat, who wins week 15 in a tiebreaker with 32 points! Also finishing with 32 points on the week were The Tradition and pachyderm. With 30 points, gatorbamalover was next, and JHutto, War Ralphie, and maestro finished one point back with 29 points.
Stay tuned for the season wrap-up and the announcement of the awards!