After a regular season that had some surprises, the first round of the College Football Playoffs was played this weekend. With the top four teams on a bye, and two teams not from the Power Four conferences, would we be getting exciting, close football, or one-sided squashings?
Let’s look back at the first round of the playoffs.
#9 Alabama vs #8 Oklahoma
The playoffs began on Friday night when the number nine-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Norman to face the number eight-seeded Oklahoma Sooners. Both teams had strong SEC campaigns, with the Crimson Tide advancing to the conference championship game but losing easily to Georgia. This game is a rematch of an early-season clash, a game the Sooners won by two points. Could the same happen here?
The Sooners had the first possession of the game but were unable to do anything with it. Their second possession was a lot more successful. Starting from their 41-yard line, the offense led by John Mateer made their way down to the Crimson Tide’s eight-yard line. Here, Mateer found the endzone for the rushing touchdown to take the early lead.
This lead was extended on the next two drives from Oklahoma. First, a 29-yard field goal from kicker Tate Sandell made it a 10-point lead. This was quickly followed by a seven-yard touchdown pass from Mateer to Isaiah Sategna III to make their lead 17 points midway through the second quarter.
Then, the Alabama offense finally woke up. Led by quarterback Ty Simpson, the Crimson Tide made its way down to the Sooners’ 10-yard line. Here, on a fourth-down attempt, Simpson found Lotzeir Brooks for the touchdown pass to get themselves back into the game. Alabama was well and truly back after their next drive, which ended in a successful 35-yard field goal attempt from Conor Talty.
Near the end of the first half, the Sooners would make a massive mistake. Mateer’s pass was intercepted on the 50-yard line and then returned to the endzone for a pick-six touchdown to level the scores just before halftime.
This meant that as the teams returned to the locker rooms, the scores were level at 17 apiece.
Alabama would be able to take the lead early in the second half when Simpson found Brooks for a 30-yard touchdown pass. In response to this, the Sooners were unable to move the ball a single yard on their next drive. The Crimson Tide did not have this problem and added to their lead via a 40-yard field goal from Talty to make it a 10-point lead going into the final quarter.
Oklahoma needed to find the endzone on its next drive if it wanted to stay in the playoffs. Luckily, this is what they were able to do. Mateer found Deion Burks for a 37-yard touchdown pass to make it a three-point game. This deficit lasted a few drives, but with seven minutes to play, Daniel Hill found the endzone to score a six-yard rushing touchdown from Alabama to make it a 10-point lead and put the team one step closer to victory.
The Sooners tried to find the end zone on their remaining drives, but failed. The best they could do was two field goal attempts, both of which missed.
This meant that the number nine-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide had defeated the number eight-seeded Oklahoma Sooners 34-24.
This win had vindicated the poor start to Kalen DeBoer’s tenure as Alabama’s coach and now looks like a serious contender for the national championship. As for Oklahoma, they are still winless in the CFP, despite making numerous appearances over the last few years.
With their win, Alabama will face the number one-seeded Indiana Hoosiers in the Rose Bowl.
#10 Miami vs #7 Texas A&M Aggies
The seventh-seeded Texas A&M Aggies faced the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes, with the Hurricanes the lone ACC representative in the playoffs. On paper, this could have been a perfect game. Unfortunately, the wind played a massive role in this game. In what became a defensive masterclass from both teams, with field goals being missed throughout, a late touchdown from Malachi Toney gave the Hurricanes a 10-3 win over the Aggies.
This eliminates the Aggies (which, as a Longhorns fan, I am happy about) and keeps the Carson Beck Redemption arc alive. The ‘Canes will face the number two-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the Cotton Bowl in the next round.
#11 Tulane vs #6 Ole Miss
This year, two of the 12 teams that made the playoffs were non-power-conference teams. While this shows us that teams outside the top four conferences are being recognised for their abilities, it can lead to one-sided affairs on the field. This was seen when the 11th-ranked Tulane Green Wave (the best Group of Five team) faced the 6th-seeded Ole Miss Rebels in their first game without Lane Kiffin.
These two teams met earlier in the season in a one-sided win for the Rebels. The same thing happened here. Ole Miss dominated the Green Wave to record a 41-10 victory. This puts them into the quarterfinals, where they will face the number three-seeded Georgia Bulldogs from the SEC in the Sugar Bowl.
#12 James Madison vs #5 Oregon
The biggest surprise of the playoffs was the inclusion of the number 12-seeded James Madison Dukes. They had a powerful season and won the Sun Belt Conference. But, they never aced any ranked team this year, and their only Power Four experience was an early-season defeat to Louisville (their only defeat of the season).
The Dukes were never going to defeat the number five-seeded Oregon Ducks, but they were not embarrassed by them. A high-scoring game occurred, with Ducks QB Dante Moore throwing for four touchdowns in their 51-34 win. This win means the Ducks advance to face the number four-seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders in the Orange Bowl for their next game.
So, that was the quick lookback at the first round of the playoffs. Aside from the Oklahoma/Alabama game, these games were either squash matches or heavily affected by the weather. Luckily, the quarter finals should be stronger. They’ll be played on New Year’s Day.
