1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Ohio State
4. Washington
12/31/16
Peach Bowl
Washington vs. Alabama
Fiesta Bowl
Ohio State vs Clemson
1/9/17
The Championship Game
The biggest debate in this year's final four centered on Ohio State's presence in it. They are the first team in the three-year history of the playoff without a conference championship on their resume'. They didn't even make it to their conference's championship game. Not only that, the team that won their conference's championship game defeated them. Penn State defeated Ohio State during the regular season and they won the Big 10 championship on Saturday. In the eyes of the selection committee, Ohio State's 11-1 record trumped Penn State's 11-2 record. No team in the final four has more than one loss.
If it were up to me the final four would probably look like this.
1. Alabama
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. USC
I'd like to see the best four teams in the nation play for the title. Despite particular losses on the season Michigan and Ohio State are the best two teams from the Big 10. Even if they didn't play in the game that actually decided it. Not only that, Michigan outplayed Ohio State when those two teams played two weeks ago. And, I don't think that J.T. Barrett gained the yard needed for that first down. In recent weeks, USC has played like a team that can beat any team. They thumped final four participant Washington last month. USC's terrible start to the season doomed any realistic chance of being a part of the championship fun. Unfortunately, Penn State is left out of this group of four as well. Maybe the Big 10 should have a four team playoff to decide their champ.
Back to reality, here are the pairings for the flood of bowl games that are one the way.
Dec. 17 — New Mexico Bowl, New Mexico vs. Texas-San Antonio , Albuquerque, 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 17 — Las Vegas Bowl, Houston vs. San Diego State , Las Vegas, 3:30 p.m. (ABC)
Dec. 17 — Camelia Bowl, Toledo vs. Appalachian State , Montgomery, Ala. , 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 17 — Cure Bowl, Arkansas State vs. Central Florida, Orlando, 5:30 p.m. (CBSSN)
Dec. 17 — New Orleans Bowl, Southern Mississippi vs. Louisiana-Lafayette, New Orleans, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 19 — Miami Beach Bowl , Tulsa vs. Central Michigan, Miami, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 20 — Boca Raton Bowl , Memphis vs. Western Kentucky, Boca Raton, Fla. , 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 21 — Poinsettia Bowl, BYU vs. Wyoming, San Diego, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 22 — Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Idaho vs. Colorado State, Boise, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 23 — Bahamas Bowl , Old Dominion vs. Eastern Michigan, Nassau, Bahamas , 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 23 — Armed Forces Bowl, Navy vs. Louisiana Tech, Fort Worth, Texas, 4:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 23 — Dollar General Bowl, Ohio vs. Troy, Mobile, Ala. , 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 24 — Hawaii Bowl, Middle Tennessee vs. Hawaii, Honolulu, 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 26 — St. Petersburg Bowl, Mississippi State vs. Miami (Ohio), St. Petersburg, Fla. , 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 26 — Quick Lane Bowl, Boston College vs. Maryland, Detroit, 2:30 p.m. (ESPN2 )
Dec. 26 — Independence Bowl, North Carolina State vs. Vanderbilt, Shreveport, La ., 5 p.m. (ESPN2)
Dec. 27 — Heart of Dallas Bowl , North Texas vs. Army, noon (ESPN)
Dec. 27 — Military Bowl, Wake Forest vs. Temple, Annapolis, Md. , 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 27 — Holiday Bowl, Minnesota vs. Washington State, San Diego, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 27 — Cactus Bowl, Baylor vs. Boise State, Phoenix, 10:15 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 28 — Pinstripe Bowl, Pittsburgh vs. Northwestern, Bronx, N.Y., 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 28 — Russell Athletic Bowl, Miami (Fla.) vs. West Virginia, Orlando, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 28 — Foster Farms Bowl , Indiana vs. Utah, Santa Clara, Calif. , 8:30 p.m. (FOX)
Dec. 28 — Texas Bowl, Kansas State vs. Texas A&M , Houston, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 29 — Birmingham Bowl, South Florida vs. South Carolina, Birmingham, Ala. , 2 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 29 — Belk Bowl, Virginia Tech vs. Arkansas, Charlotte, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 29 — Alamo Bowl, Oklahoma State vs. Colorado, San Antonio, 9 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 30 — Liberty Bowl, TCU vs. Georgia, Memphis, Tenn. , Noon (ESPN)
Dec. 30 — Sun Bowl, North Carolina vs. Stanford, El Paso, Texas, 2 p.m. (CBS)
Dec. 30 — Music City Bowl, Nebraska vs. Tennessee, Nashville, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 30 — Arizona Bowl, South Alabama vs. Air Force, Tucson, Ariz. , 5:30 p.m. (ASN)
Dec. 30 — Orange Bowl, Florida State vs. Michigan, Miami Gardens, Fla., 8 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 31 — Citrus Bowl, Louisville vs. LSU, Orlando, 11 a.m. (ABC)
Dec. 31 — TaxSlayer Bowl, Georgia Tech vs. Kentucky, Jacksonville, Fla. , 11 a.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 31 — CFP Semifinal: Peach Bowl, Alabama vs. Washington, Atlanta, 3 p.m. (ESPN)
Dec. 31 — CFP Semifinal: Fiesta Bowl , Clemson vs. Ohio State, Glendale, Ariz. , 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 2 — Outback Bowl, Iowa vs. Florida, Tampa, 1 p.m. (ABC)
Jan. 2 — Cotton Bowl Classic, Wisconsin vs. Western Michigan, Arlington, Texas, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 2 — Rose Bowl Game, Penn State vs. Southern California , Pasadena, Calif. , 5 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 2 — Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma vs. Auburn, New Orleans, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Jan. 9 — National Championship Game: Semifinal winners, Tampa, Fla., 8:30 p.m. (ESPN)
Outside of the playoff games, here are the bowls that intrigue me the most.Las Vegas Bowl: Houston vs San Diego State
San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey is still running against Cal and the game was three months ago. He's a treat to watch as long as it's not against your team. It's ridiculous that college coaches can bolt teams for "greener" pastures with a big game still to play. Houston coach Tom Herman is now at Texas. Todd Orlando is now the interim coach of the Cougars. No matter how many tears Herman shed it's a shitty thing to do to players that he recruited and coached.
Raycom Media Camellia Bowl: Appalachian State vs Toledo
Nice name for the game. Saying that mouthful is already tiresome. I like seeing these "smaller" schools tangle. MAC schools are often fun and Appalachian State damn near beat Tennessee.
Miami Beach Bowl: Central Michigan vs Tulsa
For the same reasons as the Camellia Bowl this game is intriguing.
Alamo Bowl: Oklahoma State vs Colorado
If a couple things had broken differently these two teams might've had a valid claim for playoff inclusion.
Sun Bowl: Stanford vs North Carolina
Tar Heel quarterback Mitch Trubisky could be playing in the NFL soon. Stanford often seems to play well in the postseason. And it might be the last chance to see splendid Cardinal back Christian McCaffery run as a collegian.
Citrus Bowl: Louisville vs LSU
Any game with Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson in it is going to be fun. Despite firing their coach during the season LSU is a very good team. Alabama could only score 10 points against them.
Orange Bowl: Florida State vs Michigan
I was kinda hoping that Michigan would face Louisville in this game but Florida State still works for me. If I had a Heisman vote Michigan's Jabrill Peppers would get it.
Cotton Bowl: Wisconsin vs Western Michigan
Western Michigan is the only team other than Alabama to not lose a game. I'd like to see them take apart a big boy in a big game.
Rose Bowl: USC vs Penn State
If you ignore the first few weeks of the season these two have played as well as any team in the nation. Neither team has lost a game since the last weekend of September.
The postseason fun starts in just over a week.
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