The five greatest games of the four-team college football playoff mark the end of an era.
This season marks the end of the historic four-team college football playoff era, one season later than it should have.
Despite its flaws and the debates it sparked over the years, one can easily argue that the postseason format improved upon the BCS system that preceded it.
As we anticipate a 12-team field for the upcoming season, let us first take a look back at the greatest matches in the four-team playoff era. T.J. Yeldon’s touchdown run midway through the subsequent quarter gave Alabama a 21-6 lead.
Oregon beat Florida State at the Rose Bowl to win the inaugural College Football Playoff game. A historic upset occurred in the second game that will live on in Ohio State history.
The Buckeyes started preseason third-ranked quarterback Cardale Jones in the postseason following JT Barrett’s ankle injury against Michigan and Braxton Miller’s shoulder injury in August.
It was evident early on that the No. 4 seed was not going to back away from the No. 1 team, as Jones led Ohio State to a 59-0 victory against Wisconsin at the Big Ten title game to propel the Buckeyes into the College Football Playoffs.
In response, Ohio State scored four touchdowns in a row. Late in the third quarter, Steve Miller’s 41-yard pick-six to cap off the run gave the Buckeyes a 34-21 lead.
With 3:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, running back Ezekiel Elliott completed an 85-yard touchdown run to seal the victory.
The touchdown run enthralled the Ohio State supporters in New Orleans as the Buckeyes defeated the Ducks to win the national championship.
On Monday, the tenth and last four-team college football playoff will begin. The Rose Bowl Game presented by Tropicana will feature No. 1 Michigan vs. No. 4 Alabama, while the Allstate Sugar Bowl will showcase No. 2 Washington vs. No. 3 Texas, offering endless storylines and possibilities that we have only just begun to discuss.
Scheduled to debut in 2024, the tournament system will feature an expanded 12-team playoff field. The tournament system is observed at almost all other levels of football, ranging from high school and smaller-school colleges to professional.
The CFP committee will have greater leeway for error if there are more bids. If the primary debate of the year, which was the ridiculous choice of one-loss Alabama over undefeated Florida State, had occurred the following year, it would have concerned not so much who received a first-round bye as it would have concerned who got a chance at the championship.
As the 12-team era approaches, let’s take a moment to reflect on the lessons and observations from the four-team era.
Over the course of these ten seasons, certain games significantly influenced which players made the cut.
Here are 19 of those most significant games from these 10 title campaigns, ranging from Big Ten titles to a few Pac-12 no-shows to numerous Alabama-Georgia matchups.
Now that College Football Playoff Selection Sunday is approaching, it’s time to assess the chances of the remaining teams hoping to make the four-team field. Without a doubt, this season has been the most predictable in the CFP era.
The top four teams were all unbeaten going into conference championship weekend for the first time ever. That made it possible for this to be the first-ever playoff field of its kind, but it also raised the risk of mayhem this coming weekend.
Following Friday night’s Pac-12 Championship Game, seven teams remained in the running for the College Football Playoff.
At that moment, the only thing that was certain was that the Pac-12 champion Huskies would return to the Promised Land after defeating Oregon 34-31 and that they would join the College Football Playoffs for the first time since Washington earned the No. 4 seed in 2016.
It is a given that, for the first time since 2019, there will only be conference champions in the playoffs.
It is uncertain which conferences will be represented and whether the SEC, which has had at least one representation in every postseason since the competition’s founding, will be excluded.