Is there a school left that we want to win?
As all Syracuse Orange football fans focus their attention on Kyle McCord’s waiver, the CFP semi-finals begin tonight with Penn State and Notre Dame facing off in the Orange Bowl.
We know some of you want to talk about the games so we’ll give our predictions and you can use this as the “official” game thread for the semis. Feel free to talk about the games, James Franklin’s whining about conferences and extra games, or what your cousin’s boyfriend’s sister heard about the McCord waiver.
After a 4-0 quarterfinal round, Carson takes the TNIAAM staff lead with his 7-1 record. Dom also went 4-0 and jumps into a tie with Mike, Max and Kevin at 6-2. Let’s see what this round brings:
Orange Bowl: Penn State Nittany Lions (13-2) vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish (13-1) 7:30 ESPN
Kevin: Notre Dame 23, Penn State 20
James Franklin’s already making excuses about uneven schedules which makes me give the edge to the Irish here. It’s weird too because Franklin usually talks a big game and fails to back it up, so setting up his excuses now isn’t a great sign for #WeAre nation.
Mike: Penn State 27, Notre Dame 24
Franklin picked a wonderful time to poke the hornets’ nest that is strength of schedule (even though Notre Dame did play eight Power teams). Still, the most Penn State thing ever would be to get a rematch with Ohio State and then find a way to blow it, so they’ll play up to potential here and actually utilize Drew Allar and a double-edged backfield properly.
Dom: Notre Dame 24, Penn State 17
Expect a close battle throughout until Notre Dame rattles off a long run or another kickoff touchdown that just blows the door open and keeps Penn State at bay. Both teams boast similar strengths, but Notre Dame has the better CFP win between the two which is my tiebreaker in what should be a close contest.
Cotton Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes (12-2 ) vs Texas Longhorns (13-2) 7:30 ESPN Friday
Kevin: Ohio State 31, Texas 30
I didn’t see the demolition of Oregon coming and that momentum should be enough for “No Gray for Mr. Day” and his Buckeyes. You know for all the complaining college coaches do, why aren’t more begging the NFL to allow younger players in the Draft. You can’t tell me any B10 HC wants to see Jeremiah Smith for two more seasons.
Mike: Ohio State 38, Texas 27
In hindsight, losing to Michigan might have been the best thing to happen to Ohio State this year. Their offense has been on a tear through the first two rounds, and now they face a Texas outfit that almost reverted to their 2010s variety and probably should have lost to Arizona State. A BIG Championship awaits.
Dom: Ohio State 34, Texas 17
Call me anti-Longhorn with this prediction, but against a top-tier defense, this is the game where the cracks in Texas’ offense will really expose themselves. OSU is easily the team entering the CFP semifinals with the most momentum.
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Who ya got in these two?