College Football Playoff predictions: LSU steals No. 1 spot from Ohio State, Oklahoma sneaks in

College Football Playoff predictions ahead of the final release see LSU take the No. 1 spot from Ohio State and Big 12 champ Oklahoma taking the last spot.

It’s a sad day in college football, as the regular season has officially come to an end with the wrap up of the conference championships. This is also the last projected playoff post here at FanSided. The good news is that there is still plenty to go before football season comes to an end. We have tons of bowl games, and of course, the College Football Playoff. The final rankings come out on Sunday, which means it was put up or shut up for the contenders this weekend.

Before we get to the final four, it’s time for the last edition of farewells.

A sad farewell to the Utah Utes, as the Pac-12 continues to play spoiler to itself. Utah was in prime position to claim its first College Football playoff spot as long as they took care of business against Oregon in the Pac 12 Championship. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. The Utes were outplayed by the Ducks and suffered a whopping 37-15 loss. Better luck next year, Pac 12 teams.

The Baylor Bears also get the boot this week. Baylor did what they needed to do after they blew a 28-3 lead to Oklahoma, winning out to set up a rematch in the Big 12 title game. Things went differently this time, with the Bears battling to a stalemate after four quarters. They just couldn’t finish in overtime and lost 30-23.

It’s sayonara to the Georgia Bulldogs as well. Georgia controlled their own destiny heading into the SEC Championship Game and would get a playoff spot if they defeated the LSU Tigers. They were soundly defeated by the Tigers, as the Bulldogs couldn’t slow down Joe Burrow and couldn’t get much going offensively. They lost 37-10.

So, with farewells taken care of, what four teams will be in the College Football Playoff? Let’s take a look.

1. LSU Tigers

What more can you ask of the LSU Tigers at this point? Their resume grows once again, as they dominated the Georgia Bulldogs 37-10 in the SEC Championship game.

Quarterback Joe Burrow was impressive once again. He completed 28 of 38 passing for 349 yards and four touchdowns. Burrow was tough to stop all day. He escaped pressure constantly, making the Georgia defense pay with his arm and his legs. He even caught one of his own passes and scampered for a first down. Justin Jefferson led the way in receiving, racking up 115 yards and a score on seven catches.

The defense for the Tigers bottled up the run game, allowing just 61 yards on 25 total carries. They sacked Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm three times, and the secondary picked off two passes and made their receivers uncomfortable all day.

They now have wins over Texas, Florida, Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia on the season. Include Texas A&M in there if you would like. That resume screams No. 1 in the College Football Playoff and there shouldn’t be an argument otherwise.

2. Ohio State Buckeyes

It was a scare early on for the Ohio State Buckeyes, who came into the week with the top ranking in the country and in the playoff rankings. They entered as 16.5 point favorites in their rematch against the Wisconsin Badgers.

Early on, the Badgers punched Ohio State in the mouth. Badgers quarterback Jack Coan made some big-time throws, and Jonathan Taylor came out with a chip on his shoulder. Both Taylor and Coan found the end zone to give Wisconsin a 14-0 lead. The Buckeyes got on the board late in the first half, but gave up a score with just seconds on the clock, leading to a 21-7 halftime deficit.

The Buckeyes came out focused in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown on just five plays. After Wisconsin fumbled the punt, Ohio State added a field goal. Quarterback Justin Fields found K.J. Hill twice after that, and the Buckeyes built a 34-21 lead on 27 unanswered points.

The defense stymied the Wisconsin offense all second half long, and the Buckeyes finished their regular season with a Big Ten title.

3. Clemson Tigers

The Clemson Tigers entered the ACC Championship game as the hottest team in college football and as 29-point favorites over the Coastal champion Virginia Cavaliers. The Tigers had just a 14-7 lead after the first quarter, but the floodgates opened from there.

Clemson scored on their first five drives of the game, with the sixth being a kneel at the half. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdowns in the first half (four total), two of which went to Tee Higgins (the other going to Justyn Ross). Travis Etienne cashed in another and the Tigers led 31-7 at the break.

Virginia found the end zone on their first drive of the second half cutting the lead to 31-14. The Tigers responded with two more touchdown drives bringing the game to 45-14. That was enough for Dabo Swinney, and he put the backups in.

The Tigers finished with a 62-17 rout of the Cavaliers. Lawrence threw for 302 yards and four touchdowns, Etienne ran for 114 on the ground, and Higgins had 182 yards receiving and three scores. The defending champs look excellent on both sides of the ball and are a dangerous underdog in the College Football Playoff.

4. Oklahoma Sooners

With the Utah loss Friday night, the matchup between the Oklahoma Sooners and Baylor Bears felt like a quarterfinal game, with the stipulation of a Georgia loss of course. The Sooners came out hot, with CeeDee Lamb taking a short pass for a huge gain to get the Sooners ahead. They built a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, before seeing it disappear in the second quarter. A couple of turnovers for the Sooners offense contributed to the 13-10 deficit at halftime.

It was a game of runs in the second half just like the first. Oklahoma’s first three drives in the second half all resulted in points, and they once again built a 10 point lead, 23-13. But, Baylor got a jolt from the third quarterback Jacob Zeno and ended up tying the game with just over three minutes to go.

The game went to overtime, and the Sooners scored in just three plays. The defense hung tough and got pressure on all four plays, and Oklahoma hung on 30-23. Jalen Hurts was up and down with his performance, but CeeDee Lamb’s presence in this game was the difference, with eight catches for 171 yards. The defense added six sacks and seven quarterback hurries.

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