Updated College Football Playoff bracket: Predicting the quarterfinal results

While the home environments were electric, the final scores were not even remotely close. Although No. 12 Clemson kept it interesting with No. 5 Texas for a while there, the other three first-round games in the recently expanded 12-team College Football Playoff were one blowout after another. The right teams got in, but we have to wonder if the automatic qualifiers played a part in these being blowouts.

On Friday night, No. 7 Notre Dame won the Indiana state championship over Indiana, 27-17. In the first game of the Saturday slate, No. 6 Penn State wiped the floor with No. 11 SMU, 38-10. During the mid-afternoon game, No. 5 Texas handled No. 12 Clemson, 38-24. And in primetime, No. 8 Ohio State threw No. 9 Tennessee like a broken flatscreen into the Olentangy after a brutal Michigan loss, 42-17.

As a somewhat of a surprise, chalk prevailed over the weekend before Christmas. Cold weather was a factor in all but the home game for Texas in Austin at DKR. However, I think a lack of roster depth, big-game coaching inexperience and several other factors contributed to every first-round game being so incredibly lopsided. What if I told you the College Football Playoff regularly gives us blowouts, y'all?

Now that we know who all is advancing to the national quarterfinals, let's see who they all are playing.

Updated College Football Playoff Bracket: Who plays in the quarterfinals?

Here is what the remaining College Football Playoff schedule looks like heading into the quarterfinals.

The first game to help ring in the new year will be No. 6 Penn State vs. No. 3 Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Eve. Boise State earned the No. 3 seed by winning the Mountain West and being the third highest-ranked conference champion at the time of Selection Sunday. As was the case with Penn State playing on Saturday afternoon, this shall be the first-ever playoff game for the program.

We have three national quarterfinals on New Year's Day. The first will be No. 5 Texas vs. No. 4 Arizona State in the Peach Bowl. Arizona State earned the No. 4 seed by winning the Big 12 and being the fourth highest-ranked conference champion at the time of Selection Sunday. This will be the Sun Devils' first-ever trip to the College Football Playoff. They were among the most unlikely to get there.

After the Peach Bowl, we will have the Grandaddy of Them All. No. 1 Oregon will face No. 8 Ohio State in a rematch from the regular season in the Rose Bowl. Oregon is back in the College Football Playoff since ironically losing to Ohio State in the first-ever national championship in the playoff format. Oregon enters play as the only team left in the country without a single defeat on their great resume.

And finally, the last quarterfinal will be down in The Big Easy, as No. 2 Georgia takes on No. 7 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. To date, Notre Dame has never beaten Georgia head-to-head, including their first-ever meeting with the Dawgs way back in 1980. Georgia won its second-ever national title that season, thanks to the brilliant freshman season from Herschel Walker. He shined in that Sugar Bowl.

Now that we know what national quarterfinals are ahead of us, let's make some very early predictions.

College Football Playoff: Predicting every outcome in the quarterfinals

Fiesta Bowl: No. 6 Penn State Nittany Lions vs. No. 3 Boise State Broncos

We are looking at potentially the most lopsided game in the national quarterfinals between No. 6 Penn State and No. 3 Boise State. Then again, we said the same thing about No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas, and that ended up being the most compelling game of the first-round by far. The one everyone thought was going down to the wire in No. 8 Tennessee at No. 9 Ohio State became anything but that.

Boise State may be well-rested, but outside of running back Ashton Jeanty, the Broncos do not really have the horses (pun intended) to keep pace with the ferocious roster of the Nittany Lions. The Broncos would need for Maddux Madsen to outshine an ascending Drew Allar to even keep this game close. We would need a James Franklin mental meltdown of epic proportions for Penn State to lose.

Penn State gets out to a comfortable lead before self-inflicted Broncos mistakes make this a laugher.

Pick: Penn State Nittany Lions 41, Boise State Broncos 17

Peach Bowl: No. 5 Texas Longhorns vs. No. 4 Arizona State Sun Devils

I will be attending this game. My girlfriend is an Arizona State alum and the Peach Bowl is in my backyard at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Given my regularly stated SEC allegiance lies, you know who I am rooting for. That being said, I wonder if Marcus Arroyo's high-octane Arizona State offense is truly ready for the vaunted pass rush Texas is going to be throwing at them. This game is all about speed.

In truth, I think we might see Texas slightly overlook Arizona State on New Year's Day. It will be a relatively early kick for everyone invovled. Yes, it may be a 10:00 a.m. local time kick for those hailing from Greater Phoenix, but I think ASU will be ready to play. Unfortunately, depth will prevail in the final frame. Texas will get the score and the stop it needs to advance past Arizona State to the semifinals.

Look for this one to be even closer than what we saw out of Texas in its playoff win over Clemson.

Pick: Texas Longhorns 28, Arizona Sun Devils 24

Rose Bowl: No. 8 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 1 Oregon Ducks

The amount of glazing we are going to see is going to be at an all-time high. It will be like Jeff Passan pandering to everything the Los Angeles Dodgers do on the baseball side of things in the City of Angels. I might have to watch this game on mute, but I am still going to watch it because it is my job and I love college football. Who is going to win the Big Ten rematch between Oregon and Ohio State?

There is a chance that Ohio State is unable to come off the emotional high of its cathartic home playoff win over Tennessee. It is also within the realm of possibility that Oregon redcoats it a bit, in combination of playing tight. Again, I have the right to change my opinion on these games up until Cody Williams and I do our semifinals prediction episode on False Start Monday, Dec. 30. Go Bucks!

Ohio State is my early pick for the Rose Bowl because they will play with a crashing sense of urgency.

Pick: Ohio State Buckeyes 31, Oregon Ducks 27

Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs. No. 2 Georgia Bulldogs

And finally, the game I am most invested in. Technically, I am the most invested in the Peach Bowl because the Arizona State podcast and I will be watching it in-person. While I am rooting for the Sun Devils in that one, it will be a long night for yours truly with Georgia taking on Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Truth be told, I think this game can go either way. It all comes down to which defense shows up.

I understand that Gunner Stockton is starting at quarterback for Georgia over the injured Carson Beck. However, is he not a younger version of what Notre Dame has in Riley Leonard? They do play quite similarly with a physical running component and just enough good passing to keep you on your toes. At the end of the day, Georgia has more way dudes on both sides of the ball and in the trenches.

I will be working myself up into a lather over my nervousness, but it will be the Dawgs on top in NOLA.

Pick: Georgia Bulldogs 29, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 20

Should this be how the four national quarterfinals games shake out, we would then end up with No. 2 Georgia facing No. 6 Penn State in the Orange Bowl and No. 5 Texas playing No. 8 Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl. These are four of the six teams I was the most confident in heading into this season. The other two are still alive to win a national championship in Oregon and Notre Dame. Look at that!

Ultimately, I thin there are five to six teams left in the College Football Playoff who can realistically win it all. I am very confident that teams like Georgia, Oregon, Penn State and Texas can do it. My confidence grows in Notre Dame and Ohio State's chances. While I would be a fool to cross Arizona State off completely, I am doing that with Boise State, as I do not think they have the playmakers.

That being said, I think we are primed for an upset in the quarterfinals, but we all want closer games.