photo credit: Rachel Lehman
As sad as the end of the college football season is, there is always one thing people can still be excited for: the College Football Playoffs or CFP. The four teams in competition are the Georgia Bulldogs, the Ohio state Buckeyes, the Michigan Wolverines, and the Texas Christian university horned frogs.
The Bulldogs took down the Buckeyes 42-41 on Dec. 31. The game was very close, with the Buckeyes having a chance to win in the final seconds. Kicker Noah Ruggles missed a 50-yard field goal with a few seconds left in the game. The Buckeyes came very close to a huge upset.
The Bulldogs have been spectacular this year, going 13-0. Their wins have come quite easily and they are the clear-cut favorite to win the championship.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett threw for 3,425 yards and 20 touchdowns, according to ESPN. Stetson walked on to the Bulldogs program before transferring to Jones County Junior College. Stetson transferred back to Georgia after one year at the community college and eventually ended up starting for the Bulldogs.
The Buckeyes have had a very weird season. They started the season very strong, beating the, at the time, No. 5 team in the country, Notre Dame. But very soon after, the Buckeyes started to break down.
The Buckeyes started to struggle, with games becoming closer. The Buckeyes beat Penn State by 13, but it was very close until the last few minutes. They beat Northwestern by 14, beat Maryland by 13 but they let the unranked Maryland team score 30 points on them.
The Buckeyes are led by quarterback C.J. Stroud. Stroud threw for 3,340 yards and 37 touchdowns this year according to ESPN. Stroud is one of the best quarterbacks in the nation currently, but at times makes questionable decisions in the pocket, sometimes often giving himself up. Due to that, many people question Stroud’s toughness.
The Buckeyes lost to their rivals the Michigan Wolverines 45-23 at home on Nov. 26. The Wolverines have a great team this year, finishing the year 12-0.
The Wolverines star running back Blake Corum finished his season with 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns, according to ESPN. Corum sustained a knee injury during a game against Illinois that he tried to play through. He also tried to play through it against the Buckeyes, where he exited the game after just two carries.
Corum did not play against TCU, and he could have definitely helped out the team, giving a more versatile offense with teammate running back Donovan Edwards. The Wolverines lost the game 51-45 on Dec. 31.
The TCU Horned Frogs are the third seed in the College Football Playoffs. TCU had a good season, finishing 12-1. TCU had many close games, evening losing one against Kansas State in the Big 12 championship.
Even after losing in the Big 12 championship, TCU remained the third seed and stayed in the College Football Playoffs. They are led by Heisman runner up Max Duggan. Duggan threw for 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns, adding in only 4 interceptions according to ESPN.
Duggan is a huge part of this team’s success. Michigan may have written this off as an easy game, with them starting unprepared and not bringing their game until the second half. TCU came off a loss against Kansas State before beating Michigan, and that loss may have been the spark they needed.
