Filling out your NCAA Tournament bracket based on who would win in football

Elite Eight

Remember when I said there have been fans advocating for a 16-team College Football Playoff? Well, there have been even more on board with an eight-team playoff. This seems like a more realistic option on the gridiron, but who would make it in this year’s NCAA tourney field?

East Region

No. 9 Central Florida vs. No. 3 LSU

The rematch we’ve been waiting for since the Fiesta Bowl concluded. Central Florida gave LSU all it could handle and only lost by eight points, but just imagine this rematch with a healthy McKenzie Milton. Since we make the rules, we’re going to say Milton is healthy here and Joe Burrow will combine with him to provide fans a heck of a quarterback duel. Even with Milton playing, the LSU defense will dominate and contain him.

Final Score: Central Florida 20, LSU 27

South Region

No. 9 Oklahoma vs. No. 10 Iowa

This one doesn’t deserve much of a description because, well, Iowa’s defense is good, but not nearly effective enough to stop Kyler Murray. The Heisman-winning quarterback and potential No. 1 overall pick will surpass 400 all-purpose yards, utilizing his plethora of weapons and tiring out an Iowa defense that will be on the field for most of the game.

Final Score: Iowa 23, Oklahoma 45

Midwest Region

No. 5 Auburn vs. No. 11 Ohio State

If Ohio State’s not careful here, a team like Auburn could come up and bite them. The Tigers may not have lived up to expectations in Jarrett Stidham’s final season with the program but they can still be a dangerous team. Dwayne Haskins won’t have it easy against this Auburn defense, but he’ll still have a decent day, by his standards, which is 250 yards and three touchdowns, engineering a win to send the Buckeyes to the Final Four.

Final Score: Ohio State 31, Auburn 23

West Region

No. 8 Syracuse vs. No. 10 Florida

Syracuse has one of the grittiest seniors in the country in Eric Dungey and he’ll be the reason this one is close, but Florida is just too strong defensively. The Gators’ run game, too, will cause problems for the Orange as Florida runs away with this one in the second half — literally. The Gators are also well-coached by Dan Mullen, though Dino Babers is a rising name in the ranks as well. Syracuse will hope to be like Florida in a couple of years.

Final Score: Florida 30, Syracuse 17