College Football Playoff 2020: Simulating a 16-team bracket

16-team College Football Playoff quarterfinal: 12 Coastal Carolina vs. 13 North Carolina

After a pair of first-round upsets in our 16-team bracket, we have a quarterfinal matchup between two double-digit seeds. This is something that the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is familiar with after some early upsets and the second-round games tend to be substantially less exciting than the upsets that led to that point.

That’s not the case here, however. When you look at Coastal Carolina and North Carolina, it’s hard not to think about the similarities that the two teams possess. Yes, they go about things in different ways but, at the end of the day, they are teams who are at their most effective when they are controlling the run game and are winning with aggressiveness on defense.

With Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, the Tar Heels would be able to move the ball on the ground quite consistently against the Chanticleers in this game. At the same time, the creativity of the Coastal Carolina offense would likely cause some mishaps from the UNC defense as their youth was evident at times throughout the year.

The deciding factor in this game, however, is North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell. Though he’s not the primary offensive option, he’s a bonafide playmaker with a ton of prowess. And in a big moment when he needs to make a play, he does it against the Chants to advance to the CFP semifinals.

North Carolina wins, 30-24