Thomas Zwiller

I’d be lying if I said the first round of this year’s College Football Playoff was very compelling. Alabama-Oklahoma was fun because of how the Crimson Tide stormed back, and while I personally enjoyed Miami-Texas A&M, I know most people don’t like rock fights. But I also think the complaints around the Group of 5’s inclusion are rather shortsighted. The CFP has always had blowouts. Last year, it was Tennessee. In the four-team format, it was Oklahoma.

Bowl season is always a bittersweet time of year. Getting extra games between blue blood programs is always a welcome bonus, and of course, the expanded College Football Playoffs will provide (mostly) high-quality matchups. But with the arrival of Pop-Tarts-themed hijinks comes the end of the college football season. It’s been a wild ride, with lots of surprises and unexpected results.

The College Football Playoffs are finally here. While I take issue with how we got this year’s bracket and the College Football Playoff Committee’s televised shows, I am excited to watch how the first round unfolds. This article won’t include the usual datawrapper graphic. Instead, ZeLO’s full playoff predictions and bowl predictions will be published shortly in the TDRD models section. Let’s get started. Before I address this game, I do want to address something.