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Talk about a wild College Football Playoff quarterfinal round. No. 1 Indiana was the only team with a first-round bye that survived, as No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Texas Tech were all knocked out.
Now, we have two semifinal matchups that perhaps very few predicted. We’ve got a Big Ten regular season rematch between Indiana and No. 5 Oregon in the Peach Bowl, while No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 10 Miami (Fla.) duke it out in the Fiesta Bowl.
No question, both games are going to be a lot of fun.
Here are my CFP bracket predictions for the semifinals:
CFP Predictions: Semifinals
Fiesta Bowl: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 6 Ole Miss (Thursday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Winner: Ole Miss
(Photo by David Buono/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
This is a tough one. On the one hand, what Miami’s defense just did to Ohio State makes you think that the Hurricanes aren’t going to let anybody run on them. It will be a fascinating matchup to see defensive linemen Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor stop Rebels’ explosive running back Kewan Lacy. But while Miami’s defense was able to get to Buckeyes’ quarterback Julian Sayin — he was sacked five times — it’ll have a different challenge with Trinidad Chambliss. The Ole Miss quarterback uses his legs more than Sayin, and, as we saw in the Sugar Bowl, he can often make something out of nothing and turn a defense inside out.
[2025 College Football Playoff Odds: Lines, Spreads for Each CFP Semifinal Game]
The one defeat Ole Miss had throughout the common season was by the hands of Georgia. Now that the Rebels have avenged that loss, they’re feeling additional assured. Furthermore, they’ve received two CFP video games with out Lane Kiffin. There are reviews that among the assistants who’re following Kiffin to LSU (which can be nonetheless teaching Ole Miss) won’t have the ability to coach the semifinal. It might be fairly a blow if offensive coordinator and play-caller Charlie Weis Jr. wasn’t in a position to go to the Fiesta Bowl. Regardless, it is a motivated group that proper now appears to be like able to profitable all of it.
Peach Bowl: No. 1 Indiana vs. No. 5 Oregon (Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET)
Winner: Indiana
(Photograph by Harry How/Getty Pictures)
It is a large rematch from early October when Indiana beat Oregon 30-20 at Autzen Stadium in Eugene. There’s no query that head coach Dan Lanning can be hyping his group up all week and ensuring the Geese know they’re the underdogs. The Hoosiers are clicking on all cylinders proper now. Regardless of a 26-day layoff between the Massive Ten championship sport on Dec. 6 and the CFP quarterfinal on Jan. 1, Indiana flat-out dominated Alabama within the Rose Bowl, 38-3. It was the one group with a first-round bye from the previous two seasons to make it to the CFP semifinal.
[The Big Picture: Is a CFP First-Round Bye Actually a Disadvantage?]
Oregon’s protection carried the group in a 23-0 shutout win over Texas Tech, however regardless of having all of the motivation on the earth to take down Indiana and make it to the nationwide championship sport, Indiana is a whole group that makes only a few errors. Heisman Trophy winner Fernando Mendoza was fairly environment friendly in Indiana’s win over Alabama, going 14 of 16 for 192 yards with three touchdowns, whereas the group additionally had 50 carries for 215 yards. Ole Miss proved that it’s powerful to beat a convention rival twice in a season, however the Hoosiers are simply that good.
Laken Litman covers school soccer, school basketball and soccer for FOX Sports activities. She is the creator of “Sturdy Like a Girl,” printed in spring 2022 to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX. Comply with her at @LakenLitman.
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