The 4 teams that have made the college football playoff have now been revealed and it was the first time in the 9 years that there has been real controversy surrounding who got in. The 4 teams that got into the playoffs are #1 Michigan, #2 Washington, #3 university of Washington, and #4 Alabama. This is where the controversy is where many people believe that #5 Florida state should have gotten into the CFP.
how the teams that got into the playoffs Michigan rolled through their season stress free for the most part they didn’t play a ranked opponent until they faced off with Penn State on november 11th. They went into this matchup at 9-0 and would face the #10th ranked Penn State, this game was Michigan’s first chance to show how good they truly were and they would go on to win this game 24-15. Then in the last week of the season they would face off against their rivals the Ohio state Buckeyes, in a huge game #2 Ohio state vs #3 Michigan. Michigan would again show how good they were with a 30-24 win over Ohio state. This would leave Michigan one last opponent in their way before they clinched a spot in the college football playoff, the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Big 10 championship. This game would show Iowa no match for Michigan as they would get crushed 26-0, and this would solidify Michigan’s spot in the playoffs as the #1 ranked team in the country with a record of 13-0.
Sophomore Ethan Klawhuan had this to say. “Growing up my whole life I was a Michigan fan, and I have seen lots of good teams, but this year’s team may be the best overall team I’ve seen. I think we have a real chance of winning it all this year, and becoming college football champions.”
The 2nd ranked team in this year’s College football playoff is the Washington Huskies. They got there season off to a quick 5-0 start before a huge game at home against the #8 Oregon Ducks. This was a nail biter game but a last minute game winning drive by quarterback Michael Penix would lead them to a 36-33 win over the ducks. After this win they would go on to win the next 7 in a row and end the regular season 12-0, becoming the first Pac 12 school to ever go undefeated in conference play. This would lead to the highly anticipated rematch in the Pac 12 championship game against Oregon. This game Washington the #3 team in the country would come in as a 9.5 point underdog was the #5 Ducks. This rematch game would again be a nail-biter coming down the very end but a clutch 3rd&4 throw from Micheal penix would give the huskies a first down late in the 4th quarter and would lead them to winning 34-31 over the ducks. The Huskies would land at #2 in the final rankings at 13-0.
Junior Spencer Bauer said this about Washington’s season. “It had been a rough few years for us Huskie fans, but seeing them turn it around last season, and then be special this season has been fun to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing them compete in the CFP, and hoping they can win the title this year.
The #3 teams in this year’s college football playoffs are the Texas longhorns. They played an early season matchup on the road against #3 Alabama where many thought they would lose, and had no chance of winning. They would go on to shock everyone and dominate Alabama winning 34-24 in a statement win on the road. After this game they would go onto win their next 4 in a row before facing off against 5-0 Oklahoma in the red river rivalry game this game would come down to the very last second where Oklahoma would lead a game winning drive and beat Texas 34-30. This would drop Texas to 5-1, and would make their path to the CFP much more difficult. But Texas would then go on to win the rest of their games and give themselves a spot in the big 2 championship game against Oklahoma state. In this game they would absolutely dominate and win 49-21, this wouldn’t guarantee them a spot in the playoffs but would give them a good shot. They would then go on to be announced as the #3 seed in the playoffs.
The final team to make the playoffs is the Alabama Crimson tide. This pick for the 4th spot in the playoffs would be highly controversial as it was highly debated whether Alabama or Florida state should have been in the playoffs. Looking through their records, and debating we can see Floridia state went 13-0 and had plenty of strong wins but the loss of their quarterback Jordan Travis with a broken leg would weigh heavily in this decision, and would in the end be the deciding factor. The committee decided that Alabama was the stronger team, and they deserved to be in over FSU despite having a 12-1 record.
Senior Brody Ricci spoke on his opinions. “I have been a college football fan for quite some time and I have never seen a college football playoff decided with such a divide. I think the 4 best teams got in but I don’t think the 4 most deserving teams got in.
This college football playoffs have been filled with drama and we expect the same during the games we predict that Washington will win their game against Texas, and we think that Michigan will win their game against Alabama setting up a Washington vs Michigan Championship, this Is where I believe the qb play of Micheal Penix will make the difference and washington will become national champions.
