The College Football Playoff kicks off with No. 9 Alabama at No. 8 Oklahoma on Friday and Bama has all the pressure to pull off the win. Not just because they’re an SEC team, a football blue blood and desperately needing to get back to the national championship level, but because Oklahoma exposed their biggest weakness. They have to prove they learned how to run the ball.
If Alabama continues to be one dimensional on offense, Kalen DeBoer might regret not taking the Michigan job because the Crimson Tide faithful will turn on him. Here’s the one thing Alabama and the rest of the College Football Playoff field has to field before they play their first games.
No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers
What they need to fix: Slow starts
Against Penn State and against Ohio State, Indiana had slow starts, forcing Fernando Mendoza and the offense to squeeze out wins. Granted, Mendoza answered the call each time so maybe that’s the strategy, but if you’re Indiana, you probably don’t want to put your team behind the eight ball in a game like a CFP one; especially against an SEC team fresh off a first round game.
Indiana is good enough to win a shootout, but they’ve hardly ever trailed by more than a possession at any point this season. They got lucky enough to beat Ohio State by scoring just one touchdown in the second half. There won’t be too many low-scoring games in the CFP so they’ll have to come out with a stronger start in the quarterfinals.
No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes
What they need to fix: Early turnovers
Ohio State cruised through most of the season and Julian Sayin was one of the most accurate quarterbacks this year. That said, he had early interceptions against Michigan and Indiana that put this offense behind the eight ball. They were fortunate enough to have a defense good enough to hold both Michigan and Indiana to field goals off those early interceptions. Miami or Texas A&M could ultimately score touchdowns off those.
No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs
What they need to fix: Pass rush
Former Alabama coach Nick Saban called out Georgia’s pass rush problems earlier this season against Texas. They obviously heard the call and have since improved toward the end of the season. That said, those same inconsistencies can’t creep back for the CFP. Against Ole Miss or Tulane, it will be paramount to maintain the passing game. One of the big reasons it was a shootout in the first game between Ole Miss and Georgia was the Bulldogs allowed the Rebels to pass at will. If they want to advance, they have to slow down the pass as much as possible.
No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders
What they need to fix: Defense.
Before you jump on me as if I don’t know what I’m talking about, yes, Texas Tech has had the best defense in college football. But their one loss was the one time their defense fell apart. That can’t happen, especially when it comes to possibly facing an offense like Oregon. Arizona State tallied nearly 400 yards of offense against Texas Tech, which is still a season-high for that defense. That’s a good thing, but it also means they can’t afford to have another defensive lapse in the CFP.
No. 5 Oregon Ducks
What they need to fix: Offensive consistency
Which Dante Moore are we going to get: The one that torched Washington in the final game of the season, or the one that struggled against Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana? Moore did lead a game-winning drive against Iowa, but that doesn’t overshadow the fact that it was still one of his worst games of the season. This offense is the heartbeat of this team and they can’t afford to be lackluster against James Madison or Texas Tech if they win. If the offense struggles, Oregon will once again get hit with an early CFP exit.
No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels
What they need to fix: Defense; defense; defense.
Do I need to say it again? DEFENSE! Ole Miss cannot allow Tulane to feel comfortable in this game and it certainly can’t let Georgia’s offense have its way with them if they beat Tulane for the second time this season. Ole Miss’s defense has looked a lot better than usual this season, but it’s still been a weakness of theirs.
This year, their defense allowed 333.1 yards per game, including 150 rushing yards per game. Their defense did allow just 182.6 passing yards per game this season. Tulane has a solid passing offense so if they get hot this time around, Ole Miss could get real uncomfortable real fast.
No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies
What they need to fix: Consistent QB play
It’s no surprise that Texas A&M is only as good as Marcel Reed this year. He’s been a solid piece for them, but that also means when he’s not playing well, it hinders this team. That Texas game will linger over this team if they don’t make it out of the first round. It was a game where nothing went right for the offense and disrupted their undefeated season. Reed is a dual threat guy and has to find a way to impact the game both as a runner and passer.
He can’t look like he did against Texas. He has to look like he did most of the season. Even in other games like Auburn and South Carolina, he didn’t look as good as he needed to, despite the team getting a win.
No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners
What they need to fix: Pass defense.
One of Oklahoma’s biggest struggles this year has been defending the pass. They were able to beat Bama, but they also gave up 326 passing yards in that game; against Tennessee they gave up 393 and Ole Miss, 315. Yes, the Sooners can force turnovers, but allowing offenses to pass the ball with ease isn’t sustainable for a deep playoff run. Whether it’s pass rush or simply defending better in coverage, the Sooners will need to be better at defending the pass or it will be the reason they won’t beat Bama a second time this year.
No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide
What they need to fix: Run the dang ball!
Speaking of Bama, their kryptonite this season has been running the ball. I guess it’s nice when you have a quarterback like Ty Simpson where you can rely on him to just sling it around and it leads to wins. But Oklahoma exposed how being one dimensional can ultimately keep them from winning. This time around, Bama either needs to figure out ways to run the ball or mask their running deficiencies if they want to win. It would be embarrassing to lose again to the same team because you were too one dimensional.
No. 10 Miami Hurricanes
What they need to fix: Carson Beck.
OK, that comes off a bit more harsh than intended, but the point stands: Carson Beck cannot look like he has since the loss to Louisville. It was only a matter of time before the turnover hungry Beck went rogue. He threw four interceptions in that game and then two more in the loss to SMU two weeks later.
If Beck turns the ball over like that against Texas A&M, it’s going to be a long first round game for the Hurricanes. Beck had problems turning the ball over last year and that kind of carried over into this year. It just might be the reason why Miami’s CFP run is over before it ever gets a chance to get rolling.
No. 11 Tulane Green Wave
What they need to fix: Diversify the offense.
There’s one thing you can guarantee with Tulane: Jake Retzlaff will have the ball in his hands. He’s the team’s leading passer and rusher, which is a good and bad thing. The good thing is they have a quarterback teams have to respect. The downside is you almost always know where the ball is going to go. They’ve had a running back by committee squad, which really won’t work in the CFP.
Either Retzlaff has to look like a superhero or the rest of the backfield has to get involved. The fact that Retzlaff has more rushing touchdowns than passing touchdowns means he’s not taking a lot of deep shots and he’s not throwing a lot in the red zone. A predictable offense will only cut their CFP run in the first round.
No. 12 James Madison Dukes
What they need to fix: Slow the game down
This isn’t necessarily something they have to fix, rather something they should focus on for their first round game. They can’t run an uptempo game against a team like Oregon, it won’t end well at all. The Ducks are a high-paced team so forcing them to slow down will be the only way JMU pulls off the upset. They’ve played a faster game and that’s mainly because they could against the less talented teams. It won’t work in this CFP and while they should stick with what works, they have to pace themselves too.