The announcement of the four-team College Football Playoff sent shock waves through the sporting world on Sunday, and while the exclusion of undefeated Florida State led to plenty of frustration and debate among fans, the bottom line is this: College football is the king of the sporting world in this country right now.
There is no bigger story throughout the sports landscape than what is happening in college football. It’s incredible. The sport has never had a better regular season on television than what we just witnessed this past season. I believe we are at the dawn of the real golden age of college football, and with the transfer portal and expansion, we are getting more parity in the sport than ever before.
With that said, we are now in the final year of the four-team CFP format, and we have a loaded field made up of Michigan, Washington, Texas and Alabama.
The No. 1-ranked Wolverines will go up against Nick Saban’s No. 4-ranked Alabama team in the Rose Bowl, while Michael Penix Jr. leads No. 2 Washington against Quinn Ewers and the No. 3 Texas Longhorns in the Sugar Bowl.
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Here are my initial thoughts on the upcoming College Football Playoff matchups:
Florida State becomes the first undefeated Power 5 team to be left out of the CFP
Rose Bowl: No. 1 Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 4 Alabama Crimson Tide
At first blush, when I saw Michigan-Alabama in the Rose Bowl, I immediately thought, “This is going to be a tough one for Michigan.”
Jalen Milroe is the reason that was my first thought. He’s absolutely the most dynamic running quarterback that Michigan will face this season. Now, the Wolverines have a great defense, there’s no doubt about that. They have one of the best, if not the best defense in the country.
But that’s a dynamic that Michigan will have to deal with for really the first time this season. Nobody on the Wolverines’ schedule has been really able to threaten them in the way that Milroe will threaten them. Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees has gotten better and better as his first season has gone along in Tuscaloosa. Alabama is also going to have a formidable battle at the line of scrimmage against Michigan, which is built to be great at the line of scrimmage.
Milroe played really well in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. He threw for 192 yards and two touchdowns, adding 67 rushing yards outside of sacks. His ability to run and use his legs could really cause Michigan some problems.
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Sugar Bowl: No. 2 Washington Huskies vs. No. 3 Texas Longhorns
I had another immediate thought that spelled bad news for one of the teams in the other College Football Playoff semifinal: This is a really bad matchup for Texas.
Texas is 95th in the country in pass defense. That’s really the one weakness the Longhorns have, and they’re pretty balanced in all other areas. But their one weakness is defending the pass, and they’re going up against the best passing game in the country. And the Huskies obtained that mark with one of their top receivers, Jalen McMillan, battling an injury throughout the season.
McMillan is now back and looked healthy in the Pac-12 title game, hauling in nine catches for 131 yards. What Kalen DeBoer does with that passing game is outstanding. Penix is an amazing passer, leading the nation in passing this season with 4,218 yards.
In order to beat Texas, you have to beat the Longhorns through the air. Dillon Gabriel did that for Oklahoma in Texas’ lone loss this season. He got loose with his legs a couple of times and completed a couple of passes late in that game, throwing for 285 yards with 58 of them coming on the Sooners’ game-winning drive.
Where I’m leaning
I immediately give Alabama and Washington the edges in the two semifinal games, which is pretty funny because both opened up as underdogs on the betting lines. As of Monday, Michigan is favored by 1.5 points, while Texas has a 4.5-point edge over Washington.
Joel Klatt’s Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl initial impressions
Those are just two tough matchups for Michigan and Texas. Washington would’ve been the best matchup for Michigan. The Wolverines’ pass rush and secondary are uniquely suited to line up with the Huskies’ passing attack. Michigan also could’ve tried to bully Washington at the line of scrimmage.
Alabama’s best matchup would’ve been getting this Michigan team because we don’t know how the Wolverines are going to deal with a mobile quarterback. Texas probably would’ve rather seen Michigan or Alabama because it’s dealing with the one team that’s best suited in the nation to attack its lone weakness.
There’s also some familiarity between Texas and Washington as they played each other in the Alamo Bowl last year, so it’ll be interesting if either side will glean any advantages from that game.
Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst and the host of the podcast “The Joel Klatt Show.” Follow him on Twitter at @joelklatt and subscribe to the “Joel Klatt Show” on YouTube.
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