CFB Playoff Upsets
The College Football Playoffs have been a shocking and entertaining series of games that proved to be action packed and shocking for many teams. There have been many surprise teams who have overcome the doubters who have hated on them throughout the regular season, and in turn there were also championship favorites who proved to be competent and feared during the regular season, but did not meet the expectations that were set for their powerhouse agendas. I will be reviewing a few of these teams, along with crucial and interesting matchups we have seen in this postseason.
Ohio State vs. Miami
A shocking outcome towards the earlier playoff stages came in Ohio State’s first matchup of the postseason, and Miami’s second of the postseason. The Miami Hurricanes, who were seeded tenth, took down the powerhouse Ohio State Buckeyes in a dominant 24-14 victory. This was shocking for a number of reasons. First of all, Miami came into this game in a controversial sort of way, as it was a down to the wire decision by the college football committee to put the teams Miami and Alabama in the playoffs over Notre Dame. One may ask why this would be so controversial? Well, the answer to that question lies with the Notre Dame reaction to their supposed “snub” of missing the playoffs. Marcus Freeman, the coach for Notre Dame, freely expressed his confusion of the ranking criteria for the college football playoffs, as he pointed out Notre Dame’s ranking was on pace to make the playoffs, and all of a sudden the playoffs come around and Notre Dame suddenly drops seeds to miss out on the playoffs. This anguish was soon followed by outrage from Notre Dame’s athletic director Pete Bevacqua who instantly pulled the Notre Dame Football team from any possible bowl game, and stated that the ACC was favoring Miami over Notre Dame. Miami, however, blocked all of this noise and these doubts of their football team and shocked the country with a historic upset, beating the supposedly invincible Ohio State Buckeyes.
Ole Miss vs. Georgia
The six seed Ole Miss Rebels got their revenge on the three seed Georgia Bulldogs in a narrow 39-34 upset in the second round of the College Football Playoffs. This was Ole Miss’ second game of the playoffs and Georgia’s first. Any upset between a 6 seed and a 3 seed is an impressive win, but for Ole Miss, it was a massive outcome. Weeks before this playoff game former Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin made his decision to leave his team in Oxford Mississippi to go coach the LSU Tigers of Baton Rouge, leaving Ole Miss scrambling to find a coach capable of leading a team into the playoffs, and to stack pressure, this was Ole Miss’ first playoff game in history. Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter made the decision to not let Lane Kiffin coach his old team through the playoffs, and to leave instantly. Carter did however allow Offensive Coordinator Charlie Weiss to stay to coach the team’s offense through the playoffs. Carter swiftly appointed Defensive Coordinator Pete Golding as the head coach for the Rebels, and after a dominant win against Tulane, led the Rebels to a historic win against the feared Georgia Bulldogs, who Ole Miss lost too earlier this season in Athens. This game definitely came down to the wire, and a final drive for the Rebels that consisted of a clutch string of incredible passes and scrambles out right and left by star quarterback Trinidad Chambliss to secure the Rebs a massive upset against a College Football powerhouse.
Alabama vs. Indiana
The Indiana Hoosiers proved that they were not a fraud team in the second round of the College Football Playoffs, absolutely killing the Alabama Crimson Tide in a 38-3 massacre. This game was important for a number of reasons, one of which was the continued Notre Dame controversy, as Alabama was one of the teams chosen over Notre Dame by the College Football Playoff Committee. This game also revealed that Indiana is in fact a very competent team, establishing them as heavy favorites to win the College Football Playoffs. Fernando Mendoza, the Indiana quarterback, threw for 192 yards along with 3 touchdowns, on a near perfect 14 passes completed out of 16 passes thrown. Indiana running back Kaelon Black had a great game as well, running for 99 yards and a touchdown off of 15 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per carry.
Final Prediction
The final game of this eventful College Football Playoff campaign will be played on Monday, January 19th in Miami, Florida. The two teams that will be facing of are the first seed Indiana Hoosiers who pose a perfect 15-0 record, and the tenth seed Miami Hurricanes who pose a 13-2 record. The Miami Hurricanes, although the heavy underdogs for this game, have home team advantage for this matchup which could help them out immensely. The Indiana Hoosiers will be coming into Miami with their heads held high as heavy favorites to win, and the confidence gained from destroying all of their opponents during their postseason campaign. The Miami Hurricanes thrive on the defensive side of the ball, with stars Rueben Bain and Akheem Mesidor crushing the defensive line roles. This will be a very interesting match up as Indiana’s Offensive Line has been outstanding, with lineman Pat Coogan coming off an MVP performance in his game against the Oregon Ducks. On the offensive side, six year senior quarterback Carson Beck leads his team with star freshman receiver Malachi Toney, and powerful runner Mark Fletcher Jr aiding him in his offensive play.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this College Football Playoff season has redefined expectations, proving that rankings and reputations mean little once the games are played. Historic upsets, resilient underdogs, and dominant performances have shaped an unforgettable postseason. As Indiana and Miami clash for the title, fans are guaranteed a thrilling and unpredictable finish.
