With the end of the regular season, college football’s top teams have all set their sets on their respective conference championships and the College Football Playoff. The College Football Playoff or CFP is a postseason football tournament comprised of the top four teams selected by a committee, in which they compete for the coveted national championship. The CFP was first introduced in 2014 as a way to expand the postseason from the prior format which had just the top two teams compete for a championship. Ever since this format has been introduced, a two loss team has never made it, so perfection and excellence is crucial for the teams who desire a CFP berth. Prior to conference championships, the only teams to have a legitimate chance are: Georgia, Michigan, Washington, Florida State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama and Ohio State Most of these teams have to play in their conference’s championship game, so there are a variety of scenarios that could happen.
The biggest of the conference championships has to be the SEC championships. This year, the undefeated Georgia Bulldogs take on the one-loss Alabama Crimson Tide. This is Alabama’s last shot at a CFP berth and this is a must win game for them. Recently, when Alabama played Auburn in their historic rivalry, it seemed as if all hopes for an Alabama victory were gone. They were stuck with a 4th and goal from the 31 yard line which seemed like an undoable task. Against all odds, the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown and won the game to keep their CFP hopes alive. While Alabama did sneak away from Auburn with a win, they were not as fortunate when they faced the Texas Longhorns.
The Texas Longhorns are 11-1 and are headed into the Big 12 championship game against Oklahoma State. Due to Texas already having a loss and being ranked lower than other teams, they need a few things to happen if they are to make it to the CFP. Texas must win and Louisville, who faces the undefeated Florida State Seminoles in the ACC title game, must win. The Longhorns last major postseason push for glory was back in 2009 when they lost in the BCS, the predecessor to the CFP, National Championship. Texas has a strong team led by quarterback Quinn Ewers and the team’s talent and intelligent coaching is bound to bring them success.
Over on the West Coast, the Washington Huskies rematch the Oregon Ducks for the Pac-12 title. Washington is undefeated and beat Oregon when they had played earlier in the season. Led by their star quarterback Bo Nix, Oregon wants some vengeance on the team that took away their shot at the perfect season. Both teams look very good and this game has some serious CFP implications. The winner is most likely gonna make it and is going to be a force to be reckoned with.
While every other team has tough conference championship games, Michigan gets a nice and easy week against Iowa. Michigan is coming off a big win against their rival Ohio State and is looking to claim their third straight Big Ten title. Iowa has the defensive talent to give the Michigan offense some trouble, but the Hawkeye offense lacks any sort of real firepower. Michigan appears to be somewhat of a lock for the CFP, unless a crazy upset occurs.
For my own prediction of who I think will end up making it, I think that Georgia will beat Alabama and be the #1 seed. Michigan will follow as #2 after steamrolling Iowa. In an intense and amazing game, I think Oregon will defeat Washington and claim the #3 spot and lastly #4 will go to the Texas Longhorns. Due to the loss of Jordan Travis, Florida State’s star quarterback, I don’t see them beating Louisville and staying undefeated.
The one thing that is always true about college football is that it never lacks excitement. There is bound to be something unexpected and miraculous happen that will have some team cheering with joy of victory and the other with the agony of defeat. This season is the last of the four team playoff and next season it will expand to a 12 team format. No more will very good teams be left out for a tight loss, but now the 12 best teams all have a chance at history.