Games I saw (some of):
(10) Miami 24-14 (2) Ohio State
All season long the Buckeyes knocked down whoever was put in front of them and we genuflected to their dominance, all while secretly wondering if they were actually any good. Well, after a back-to-back throttlings by Indiana and Miami it is plainly obvious that the Buckeye offense was kinda ordinary and the defense was good but not great. It was their scheduling that was disappointing: no Oregon, no Indiana, catching Penn State and Michigan just as they were falling apart and Texas before they were ready to blossom. The Big 10 Final showed that the Buckeyes were the 2nd best (at best!) team in the B10 and Miami just placed the flowers on their grave.
As for the Hurricanes, well, I was impressed at their opening W over Notre Dame but never saw much impressive about them again. The ACC was putrid this year--and Miami still didn't make the conference final!--and their stumbles to Louisville (dude, quit throwing interceptions!) and SMU (dude, can you please stop this running game?), were embarrassingly awful--and I thought reason enough to choose Notre Dame over them for the playoff. (*) But I noticed when they got a dominant victory at Pittsburgh and their D-line just kept getting better and better. So, in contradistinction to OSU's flawless season undone by two straight thumpings, Miami's rather lackluster regular season has yielded back to back grinding W's against Texas A&M and Ohio State (on the road, no less). Miami has shown they deserve to be here.
(5) Oregon 23-0 (4) Texas Tech
The score doesn't look like it but Tech's defense was really good, they held out as long as they could against Oregon's onslaught. But, man, dude that QB....yipes....I felt sorry for the kid. Surely that's the worst game he's ever played. He wasn't able to do much of anything and the turnovers became inevitable. You can credit Oregon's D, they came to play, but Tech's high flying offense thudded hard in this match. Good regular season, but they couldn't get it done in the tourney and that's how it goes.
Both Oregon and Tech looked pretty brilliant all year long, I couldn't separate the two--but I can now! Oregon showed up and Tech didn't, Oregon made the plays and Tech didn't, Oregon was ready to move on and Tech wasn't. In the 1st round Oregon moved the ball at will on James Madison but then fell asleep on defense, which gave the coach plenty to yell about even though they got the victory; here the coach can easily point out that while Oregon is moving on, Tech faltered so badly that the Ducks still have a lot to work on. (This is working out too perfectly for the Oregon coaching staff so far)
(9) Alabama 3-38 (1) Indiana
I believed in Bama when no one else would. When they pulled their shit together, they could get impressive W's; but when it fell apart they had some puzzling losses. I kinda thought that it was there for them to rise up as an underdog, but the offense was sloppy enough that was a foolish expectation. Bama looked like they were playing in mud, Indiana clowned them at every facet of the game, the Tide were never in this game.
Indiana has just been grinding people into dirt all year long. Alabama is simply next on the list. Frankly the Hoosiers got going a little late in this game, with a coupla breaks this could've been way more lopsided.
(6) Mississippi 39-34 (3) Georgia
The fun one! Back and forth action, two very familiar opponents, both teams with the chance to pull it all together and go on a run (am I ready to say that the winner of this game will win it all?). For the most part UGA felt like the better team but they could never get any separation and in the 4th quarter Ole Miss made the plays and UGA did not. Good but shaky season for the Bulldogs, a weird--and getting weirder--season for the Rebels.
Semifinals:
Fiesta Bowl: (10) Miami @ (6) Mississippi (+3.5, 52.5)
Miami's defense is cooking but I'm still not in on their offense. Against the sluggish Buckeyes they got a pick-6, a garbage time TD and a coupla FG's....I don't think that's gonna get them past Ole Miss. Especially since Ole Miss's pass rush is playing pretty good right now, too. As for the Rebels, even without their guru (**), that offense still moves with impunity and while Miami's pass rush will be one of the better ones they've faced this season, I think they can outscore the Hurricanes. I like Ole Miss 24-14 (Missisippi and the under).
Peach Bowl: (5) Oregon @ (1) Indiana (-3.5, 47.5)
Ahhhhh, this'll be a good one. Indiana's win at Oregon was arguably the best W of the entire season (Bama at Georgia was up there, too) and certainly the most eye-opening--THIS was the moment that I saw with certainty that the Hoosiers were for real. Going to Oregon and getting a hard fought L was the test and they blew right past that! Indiana dominated the Ducks on their home field and the only second guess on it now is that the Ducks played conservative thinking they could get by with a B- game plan. The Hoosiers proved that that wasn't good enough. Oregon has been a good squad all season long and they're probably playing their best ball right now--and, again, they've had back-to-back W's now that looked pretty easy but still gave the coaches plenty to bitch about--and they've got no reason to hold anything back this time. Oregon will be bringing their best and that will surely be the best that Indiana has seen all season long. But the Hoosiers are fuckin' money, man. They've taken all comers so far (including these Ducks) and after their cold-blooded shellacking of Ohio State and Alabama, I don't think they'll be afraid of Oregon. If anyone could get Indiana it is probably Oregon....but I don't think Indiana is gonna get got! (Am I ready to say that the winner of this game will win it all?) I'll take Indiana 27-24 (Oregon and the over).
(*) Yeah, yeah, "head to head has to matter!" And the two bad losses and only one good W all season long....doesn't that have to matter, too?
(**) The buzz is that Lane Kiffin might be interested in the Venezuela presidency now that its open. But with things getting hot in Kiev, I think there's a good chance Zelensky enters the transfer portal.
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