We are now at the quarter-final stage of the College Football Playoffs. After a first round with numerous blow-outs, the top four seeded teams now enter the bracket. Would this lead to more competitive games, and who would advance to the semi-finals?
Cotton Bowl: #10 Miami vs #2 Ohio State
The No. 2-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes are the reigning national champions and have had a strong regular season to begin their defence. They would meet Indiana in the Big Ten Championship game, which they would lose. This is their only loss of the season, and gave them the number two seeding in the playoffs. At the Cotton Bowl, they met the number 10-seeded Miami Hurricanes. During the first round, Miami defeated Texas A&M in a very low-scoring game. Would we see the same here?
The game took a few drives to get going. However, early in the first quarter, the Hurricanes would be the first to make a mistake. On the Buckeyes’ 19-yard line, Mark Fletcher Jr would fumble the ball, which would be recovered by the Buckeyes’ defense. Luckily for Miami, the following drive from Ohio State went nowhere.
The next drive from Miami was more successful. Led by quarterback Carson Beck, the offense made their way down to the Buckeyes’ nine-yard line. Here, Beck found Fletcher for the touchdown pass to give them the lead. On the next drive, Ohio State would make a massive mistake. Buckeyes QB Julian Sayin threw an intercepted pass, which Keionte Scott returned to the endzone for a Pick Six touchdown to double Miami’s lead.
Near the end of the second quarter, Buckeyes kicker Jayden Fielding was faced with a 49-yard field goal attempt. However, this meant that at halftime, the Hurricanes had a 14-0 lead over Ohio State.
Ohio State had the first drive of the second half and used it to get back into the game. Sayin and company made their way down to the Hurricanes’ one-yard line, where Bo Jackson found the endzone to score a rushing touchdown to make it a one-score game.
But this did not last for long. On the next drive, Beck and company were able to make their way down the Buckeyes’ 32-yard line, where their drive would stall. This setup Carter Davis for a 49-yard field goal that would find the uprights, giving Miami a 10-point lead going into the final quarter.
The Buckeyes struck back soon after with Sayin finding Jeremiah Smith for a 14-yard touchdown pass to again make it a three-point game. Any hope that Ohio State could win this game hung by a thread, with its offense struggling to find the end zone for the rest of the quarter. A late touchdown from the Hurricanes, paired with a Sayin intercepted pass, sealed a 24-14 win for Miami.
The reigning national champions are out, and the Carson Beck resurrection tour continues. The former Georgia Bulldog has been able to revive his career and NFL prospects at Miami, and is now one game away from taking them to a national championship game. But which teams would join them in the next round?
Sugar Bowl: #6 Ole Miss vs #3 Georgia
We had an all-SEC clash at the Sugar Bowl as the sixth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels faced the third-seeded Georgia Bulldogs. The Bulldogs enter the bracket as the SEC Champions, while Ole Miss easily beat Tulane in the first round. These teams met earlier in the season, with Georgia winning 43-35. Would Ole Miss be able to get revenge on a much bigger stage?
After the opening two drives that ended in punts, Ole Miss was able to take the lead. The Trinidad Chambliss-led offense would stall on the Bulldogs 38-yard line, setting up kicker Lucas Carneiro with a 55-yard field goal attempt that was successful. Carneiro would make another field goal on the Rebels’ next drive, this time from 56 yards out.
The Bulldogs’ offense would then wake up and deliver a massive bite. Led by Gunner Stockton, the offense made its way down to the Rebels’ 12-yard line. Here, the quarterback found the endzone for a rushing touchdown to give Georgia the lead. But this lead did not last long, as on the following drive, Chambliss found Luke Hasz for a three-yard touchdown pass, handing it back to Ole Miss.
This would be short-lived, as Stockton would again find the endzone for another rushing touchdown for Georgia to retake the lead.
Things would get better for the Bulldogs on their next drive when Kewan Lacy fumbled the ball. Daylen Everette would scoop up the ball and find the endzone with it to further the lead.
This meant that at halftime, the Bulldogs had a 21-12 lead over the Rebels.
Early in the third quarter, Georgia had an opportunity to extend their lead via a 55-yard field goal from Peyton Woodring. However, this attempt missed, and possession was handed over to the Rebels. They would take full advantage of this, with Chambliss and company moving down to the Bulldogs’ seven-yard line. Here, Lacy found the endzone to score a rushing touchdown to bring them closer to Georgia.
However, Georgia would widen the gap on their next drive, with Woodring kicking a 37-yard field goal near the end of the third quarter. This gave them a five-point lead going into the final quarter.
The lead did not last long. On the first drive of the fourth quarter, Lacy would score a five-yard rushing touchdown. This, paired with a successful two-point conversion attempt, gave Ole Miss a three-point lead. The Rebels were given a massive lifeline on the next drive when Stockton was sacked and fumbled, losing possession. With a reduced field, Ole Miss widened its lead, with Chambliss finding Harrison Wallace III for a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Georgia would immediately strike back, with Stockton finding Zachariah Branch for an 18-yard touchdown pass to make it a three-point lead. With under a minute left to play, the scores were leveled, and Woodring found the uprights from 24 yards out.
Now with possession, Ole Miss knew that if they got the ball into field goal territory, one successful kick would be enough to give them the win. On a drive that started on their 25-yard line, the Rebels’ offense made its way down to the Bulldogs’ 30-yard line. This set Carneiro up with a 47-yard field goal attempt. His kick was successful, giving the Rebels the lead.
With six seconds left to play, there was a very slim opportunity, but an opportunity nonetheless for Georgia to get themselves the win or at least overtime. However, a safety on the one play left only sealed a 39-34 win for the Ole Miss Rebels.
Ole Miss came into the playoffs without coach Lane Kiffin. They seem to be playing better without him, and they make their first appearance in the CFP semi-finals. The last time Ole Miss won a national championship was in 1962, and there is a good chance that their over 60-year wait for the next one may come to an end.
Rose Bowl: #9 Alabama vs #1 Indiana
The number one-seeded Indiana Hoosiers entered the playoffs in the historic Rose Bowl game, facing the number nine-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide. Any hopes that this would be a close game were immediately diminished. Fernando Mendoza led his team to a comprehensive 38-3 win over Alabama, putting the undefeated Hoosiers into the semi-finals, and they are the heavy favourites to win the national championship. In the coming weeks, we will find out if Indiana can cope with the pressure of fighting for a national championship.
Orange Bowl: #5 Oregon vs #4 Texas Tech
The Orange Bowl saw the entrance of Big 12 champions, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, to the bracket as they faced the number five-seeded Oregon. This is a one-sided game, with the Ducks’ defense limiting what Tech could do. In the end, the Ducks recorded a 23-0 win.
So, that was a lookback at the College Football Playoff quarter finals. Next week, it is the semi-finals where Miami will face Ole Miss, and Oregon will play Indiana. The winner of those games will meet in the national championship game on January 19 in Miami.