The legendary Week 15 of college football has wrapped, and the College Football Playoff is set. So, let’s dive into our recap, and then outline the 12 teams that get a shot to win a National Championship.
#1 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #2 Indiana Hoosiers
Despite it being a low-scoring game, the Big Ten Championship was an exciting matchup between the two best teams in the country to see who would grab the #1 seed in the Playoffs. Indiana was the team to pull away with the win, grabbing the victory – and Big Ten Title – 13-10. One of the big moments in Ohio State’s loss was a missed Jayden Fielding 27-yard field goal that would have tied the game. The Hoosiers won their first outright conference title since 1945. Regardless of the result, these are two of the best teams in the country, and both are favorites to win the Playoff. Should these teams meet again for the National Championship, expect another nail-biter to the end.
#3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. #9 Alabama Crimson Tide
Considering Alabama handed Georgia their only loss of the season, one would think this would be a close game. However, Georgia walked all over the Crimson Tide – winning 28-7. The SEC Championship was dominated by Georgia’s defense and three passing touchdowns from Gunner Stockton. Even with their third loss of the season, the Tide will still join Georgia in the playoffs. The Dawgs defeated their SEC rival for the first time since the 2022 National Championship.
#4 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. #11 BYU Cougars
In the most one-sided game of the week, Texas Tech whooped BYU 34-7. BYU could have made a case for a playoff spot if they put up a good fight, but they turned the ball over on four possessions in the second half. Texas Tech did not take those opportunities for granted, seen by their 34 unanswered points following BYU’s first-quarter touchdown. This marked the Red Raiders’ first outright conference title since 1955.
#17 Virginia Cavaliers vs. Duke Blue Devils
The ACC Championship was very exciting and came down to the last second, but Duke upset Virginia 27-20 in overtime to claim the ACC title. Duke was up 20-10 with about five minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Virginia scored ten points in that time to send it to overtime. However, Virginia was unable to score while Duke did score, giving the Blue Devils their first outright ACC title since 1962.
#20 Tulane Green Wave vs. North Texas Mean Green
In the battle for the American Conference Championship, Tulane secured a 34-21 victory to put them into the College Football Playoff. Tulane’s big day came from thirty-one unanswered points between the end of the first quarter and the middle of the third quarter. This great win for the Wave puts them into the College Football Playoff as an 11-2 team, thanks to being a top-5 conference champion.
#25 James Madison Dukes vs. Troy Trojans
JMU took care of business 31-14 and then crossed its fingers to make the playoffs. But, speaking of the game, they played a strong game on both sides of the ball, pulling away with fourteen points in the fourth quarter to win. And about those prayers, they were answered – as Virginia lost to allow JMU to enter the Playoff as a top-5 conference champion.
So, the 12 Teams who made the College Football Playoffs are as follows.
Indiana
Ohio State
Georgia
Texas Tech
Oregon
Ole Miss
Texas A&M
Oklahoma
Alabama
Miami
Tulane
JMU
These twelve teams include the five best championship winners, and the other seven are the seven best other teams. Some notable teams that were left off the list were BYU, Notre Dame, and Texas. Next week will be an off week for the playoff teams. But the first bowl game starts on December 13th, and then runs into the new year. The first playoff game is on Friday, December 19th, and the other three are on Saturday, December 20th.
The four games are:
#8 Oklahoma Sooners vs. #9 Alabama Crimson Tide
#7 Texas A&M Aggies vs. #10 Miami Hurricanes
#6 Ole Miss Rebels vs. #11 Tulane Green Wave
#5 Oregon Ducks vs. #12 James Madison Dukes
