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College Football Playoff: Penn State rolls, three more marquee matchups

Dec 21, 20243 min read

By Jacob Seliga

Lead Writer


Courtesy College Football Playoff

On Friday evening with the backdrop of Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana the new era of the college football playoff began with the Irish taking on Indiana.


That matchup was the first ever first round matchup and today the remaining three matchups take place as 11 teams enter the day with a chance to win the national championship.


With the new format, four conference champions received automatic bids to the quarterfinals that’ll be played on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and await the winners of today’s matchups to see who they may play. 


Notre Dame has already advanced to the quarterfinals to face No. 2 Georgia at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1st. 


No. 6 Penn State rolls No. 11 SMU


The Penn State Nittany Lions rolled Saturday to the tune of a 38-10 victory over SMU in the first round of the College Football Playoff.


The Big 10 runner-up was dominant from start to finish, much like the Fighting Irish were on Friday night, drawing criticism toward the playoff because of a lack of competitive games.


Nonetheless, Penn State now advances to the Fiesta Bowl where it will play No. 3 Boise State.


No. 5 Texas vs No. 12 Clemson, 2 PM, TNT


Texas Longhorns (11-2) (Losses to No. 2 Georgia)

  • Key Stats:

    • Rushing Offense: 164.4 yards per game, No. 60 nationally

    • Passing Offense: 280.9 yards per game, No. 12 nationally 

    • Scoring Defense: 12.5 points allowed per game, No. 2 nationally 

    • Total Yardage: 249.8 yards allowed per game, No. 2 nationally


  • Key Players:

    • Anthony Hill Jr (LB): 90 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 17 tackles for loss

    • Jahdae Barron (DB): 47 tackles, 5 interceptions, 9 pass breakups 

    • Quinn Ewers (QB): 2,665 passing yards, 25 passing touchdowns, 66.2 completion percentage 


  • Texas Key to Victory: Ewers cannot be inaccurate and has to take what the defense gives him instead of forcing it.


Clemson Tigers (10-3) (Losses to No. 2 Georgia, No. 15 South Carolina, Louisville)

  • Key Stats:

    • Rushing Offense: 170.8 yards per game, No. 49 nationally

    • Passing Offense: 275.3 yards per game, No. 14 nationally 

    • Scoring Defense: 23 points allowed per game, No. 39 nationally 

    • Total Yardage: 363.1 yards allowed per game, No. 56 nationally


  • Key Players:

    • Phil Mafah (RB): 1,116 rushing yards, 8 rushing touchdowns, 19 receptions, 2 receiving touchdowns 

    • TJ Parker (DE): 19 tackles for loss, 54 tackles, 11 sacks, 6 forced fumbles 

    • Cade Klubnik (QB): 3,303 passing yards, 33 passing touchdowns, 63.7% completion percentage 


  • Clemson Key to Victory: Tigers have to control the clock and have to spread the ball around in the passing game as opposed to a one man show which was the case in losses during the season.


Prediction: Texas 27 Clemson 20


No. 8 Ohio State vs No. 9 Tennessee, 6 PM, ABC


Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) (Losses to No. 1 Oregon, Michigan)

  • Key Stats:

    • Rushing Offense: 169.3 yards per game, No. 52 nationally

    • Passing Offense: 254.3 yards per game, No. 36 nationally 

    • Scoring Defense: 10.1 points allowed per game, No. 1 nationally 

    • Total Yardage: 241.5 yards allowed per game, No. 1 nationally


  • Key Players:

    • Jeremiah Smith (WR): 57 catches, 934 receiving yards, 10 touchdowns

    • J.T. Tuimoloau (DB): 12 tackles for loss, 38 tackles, 6 sacks 

    • Will Howard (QB): 2,860 passing yards, 27 passing touchdowns, 72% completion percentage


  • Buckeyes Key to Victory: Take the Michigan game script and burn it. Howard also has to finish drives, the offense can’t afford to stall out against a great line of scrimmage attack.   

Tennessee Volunteers (11-2) (Losses to No. 2 Georgia, Arkansas)

  • Key Stats:

    • Rushing Offense: 226.2 yards per game, No. 10 nationally

    • Passing Offense: 214.1 yards per game, No. 77 nationally 

    • Scoring Defense: 14.9 points allowed per game, No. 4 nationally 

    • Total Yardage: 282.9 yards allowed per game, No. 6 nationally


  • Key Players:

    • Dylan Sampson (RB): 1,487 rushing yards, 22 rushing touchdowns, SEC offensive player of the year

    • Nico Iamaleava (QB): 2,510 passing yards, 19 passing touchdowns, 65% completion percentage

    • James Pearce Jr (DL): 35 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss


  • Tennessee Key to Victory: Have to be able to run the ball effectively with Sampson and have to take advantage of the interior of the Ohio State offensive line. 


Prediction: Tennessee 24 Ohio State 21

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