Talk about a wild College Football Playoff quarterfinal round. No. 1 Indiana was the only team with a first-round bye that survived, as No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech were all knocked out.
Now, we have two semifinal matchups that perhaps very few predicted. We’ve got a Big Ten regular season rematch between Indiana and No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl, while No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami (Fla.) duke it out in the Fiesta Bowl.
No question, both games are going to be a lot of fun.
Here are my CFP bracket predictions for the semifinals:
CFP Predictions: Semifinals
Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 6 Ole Miss (Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Winner: Ole Miss
(Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This is a tough one. On the one hand, what Miami’s defense just did to Ohio State makes you think that the Hurricanes aren’t going to let anybody run on them. It will be a fascinating matchup to see defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor stop Rebels’ explosive running back Kewan Lacy. But while Miami’s defense was able to get to Buckeyes’ quarterback Julian Sayin — he was sacked five times — it’ll have a different challenge with Trinidad Chambliss. The Ole Miss quarterback uses his legs more than Sayin, and, as we saw in the Sugar Bowl, he can often make something out of nothing and turn a defense inside out.
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The only defeat Ole Miss had during the regular season was at the hands of Georgia. Now that the Rebels have avenged that loss, they’re feeling extra confident. Moreover, they have won two CFP games without Lane Kiffin. There are reports that some of the assistants who are following Kiffin to LSU (that are still coaching Ole Miss) might not be able to coach the semifinal. It would be quite a blow if offensive coordinator and play-caller Charlie Weis Jr. wasn’t able to go to the Fiesta Bowl. Regardless, this is a motivated team that right now looks capable of winning it all.
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Winner: Indiana
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
This is a massive rematch from early October when Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. There’s no question that head coach Dan Lanning will be hyping his team up all week and making sure the Ducks know they are the underdogs. The Hoosiers are clicking on all cylinders right now. Despite a 26-day layoff between the Big Ten championship game on Dec. 6 and the CFP quarterfinal on Jan. 1, Indiana flat-out dominated Alabama in the Rose Bowl, 38-3. It was the only team with a first-round bye from the past two seasons to make it to the CFP semifinal.
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Oregon’s defense carried the team in a 23-0 shutout win over Texas Tech, but despite having all the motivation in the world to take down Indiana and make it to the national championship game, Indiana is a complete team that makes very few mistakes. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was quite efficient in Indiana’s win over Alabama, going 14 of 16 for 192 yards with three touchdowns, while the team also had 50 carries for 215 yards. Ole Miss proved that it’s tough to beat a conference rival twice in a season, but the Hoosiers are just that good.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
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