How a 16-team College Football Playoff would have played out last season
By John Buhler
Quarterfinals, Round of Eight, “Elite Eight”
- Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl: No. 9 Georgia Bulldogs (8-2) vs. No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (12-0): (Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia)
- Capital One Orange Bowl: No. 10 Iowa State Cyclones (9-3) vs. No. 2 Clemson Tigers (11-1): (Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida)
- Playstation Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Oklahoma Sooners (9-2) vs. No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes (7-0): (State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona)
- Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic: No. 5 Texas A&M Aggies (9-1) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1): (AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas)
Yes, you could argue these four quarterfinal games could be played at the home stadium of the higher-seeded team. But because the college bowl system is rendered completely useless by this massively expanded playoff format, why not use the other four bowls from the New Year’s Six as the quarterfinals with a sponsor attached to each of them? Expansion is all about money anyway.
Nick Saban will lick his chops, knowing he will own Kirby Smart and the Dawgs once again in Atlanta. Daniels helps Georgia play better, but Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian is a man on a mission to get the Texas job. He carves up the Georgia secondary like he was still with the Atlanta Falcons offense in practice going up against the defensive backs in Flowery Branch.
Plucky Iowa State may give little ole Clemson a scare in the first quarter, but too bad Trevor Lawrence has the game of his life and takes his counterpart Brock Purdy to the woodshed. Clemson does what any proud ACC team would do and taste some delicious citrus as Orange Bowl champions. One could argue Clemson will be extremely overconfident heading into the semifinals.
Ohio State will once again prove to the rest of America that Oklahoma does not belong on the same big stage as more established College Football Playoff teams. Spencer Rattler may have his moments in the ‘gun, but Justin Fields and the vaunted Ohio State offense prove too much for a bewildered Oklahoma defense in the Valley of the Sun in the 2021 Playstation Fiesta Bowl.
After getting mostly snoozefests in this expanded playoff format, we get the best game of the whole thing in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic between No. 5 Texas A&M and No. 4 Notre Dame. This one goes to triple overtime. Kellen Mond does just enough to prove he is the better quarterback over Ian Book. Jimbo Fisher and Texas A&M celebrate their biggest win in years.
While three of the same teams make the “Final Four”, Texas A&M earns its spot over Notre Dame.