CFP's Featured Four All Set for New Year's Eve

Published on 8-Dec-2015 by Chips 10

Football - NCAA    NCAA Football Daily Update

Share this article


CFP's Featured Four All Set for New Year's Eve

With little suspense, the Featured Four of the College Football Playoff were finally named on Sunday.

Here's the slate for New Year's Eve:

  • Clemson (13-0) v Oklahoma (11-1) in Miami
  • Alabama (12-1) v Michigan State (12-1) in Dallas

The ACC champion Tigers will be led by QB Deshaun Watson, while Oklahoma counters with Baker Mayfield.

Look for a high-scoring game in Florida, as the Sooners will try to avenge a 40-6 thumping by Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl last season.

Clearly, Oklahoma didn't come to play in that Florida matchup, and Watson didn't even play for Clemson.

Alabama's only schedule blemish was to Mississippi in September, but Nick Saban's charges recovered to become the only repeat team from last year's playoff. The Tide were top-seeded then, but Ohio State showed how much that was worth.

This year, the 'Bama defense seems more stout.

Michigan State was thought to be in big trouble after a controversial early November loss to Nebraska, who finished 5-7, but the Spartans went into Columbus without quarterback Connor Cook and defeated Ohio State to stay alive.

And then they discovered that Iowa was indeed for real:

Traditionalists would dispute that a Rose Bowl berth is merely a consolation prize, and until the playoff expands to eight-teams, they could be right.

Iowa and Stanford will agree, because they're in it.

Notre Dame and Ohio State will also draw marquée attention in the Fiesta Bowl, while Mississippi and Oklahoma State will duke it out in the Sugar Bowl.