College Football Playoff 2015: How would an eight-team format play out?
By John Buhler
No. 3 Michigan State Spartans vs. No. 6 Stanford Cardinal (Rose Bowl)
Another rematch from a previous bowl season at the same location would happen in this year’s Rose Bowl. No. 3 Michigan State, the winner of the Big Ten, would host No. 6 Stanford, the winner of the Pac-12 in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California for the second time in three seasons.
Two years ago, Michigan State got the best of Stanford in the Rose Bowl. These two teams seem very evenly matched and it again would go down to the wire on New Year’s Day. Would Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook do enough to lift the Spartans to the National Semifinals? Could Stanford’s Heisman-contending running back Christian McCaffrey carry Stanford to the next round?
This game would likely be a low-scoring affair, with perhaps a similar scoring range of their previous Rose Bowl meeting with 44 combined points. It feels like a late field goal or a late game-winning drive would decide this game. While both Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio and Stanford’s David Shaw are two of the better coaches in college football today, Christian McCaffrey would stand as the best player on the gridiron on New Year’s Day and that matters.
Stanford would advance to play Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for the first National Semifinal Game game of the 2015 eight-team College Football Playoff. Stanford would take the Dallas location, as top-seeded Clemson would grab the Miami location. The Cardinal would want to play in Eastern Standard Time anyway.
Prediction: Stanford Cardinal 17, Michigan State Spartans 16
Next: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 5 Iowa