College Football Play off Field Set

On Sunday at 12:30 p.m., the College Football world held their collective breaths as the four teams to qualify for the College Football Playoff were revealed. Michigan and Washington were both locked to make it as 13-0 conference champions, and Georgia was out, which left the committee in a tough position. They had to pick two teams out of Texas, Alabama and Florida State. Texas went 12-1 and won the Big 12 Championship over Oklahoma State.

Importantly, in week two, they beat Alabama, which was a key win for them. Alabama also went 12-1, and beat Georgia, the number one team in the nation and two-time defending national champions, in the SEC Championship. Florida State went 13-0 and beat Louisville to win the ACC Championship, but are without their star quarterback Jordan Travis, who is out for the season with an injury.

When the teams were revealed, the one and two seeds were as expected: Michigan at number one and Washington at number two. Texas was given the number three seed, and Alabama got the fourth seed. This was a very controversial decision, as it meant that for the first time in College Football Playoff history, an undefeated Power Five Conference champion was left out, as Florida State was given the five seed and, therefore, will not be in the College Football Playoff.

The injury to Jordan Travis was cited by the committee as the main reason Florida State was left out, but there were still many who thought this was the wrong choice, as Florida State literally won every game on their schedule and will now not have a chance to play for a national championship. On the flip side, Alabama was certainly the most controversial team to be put in the playoffs, as they had losses and struggled to close wins against several bad teams. However, the committee does say it is the four best teams that make the playoff, not the four most deserving, and while Florida State was more deserving than Alabama to make it, Alabama is clearly a better team.

Just ask Michigan, who will be Alabama’s opponent in the semifinal. Based on their reaction when they found out that would be who they were playing, it was clear they would much rather played Florida State. Both games should be super exciting matchups, with Michigan and Alabama playing in the 1 vs. 4 game and Washington and Texas in the 2 vs. 3 game.

I predict Michigan will beat Alabama in a close game, and that Washington will beat Texas. This would lead to a Michigan vs. Washington national championship game, and I think Michigan will win it all.