Aside from Alabama comeback, CFP first round lacked entertainment
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“Riveting.”
That was the tweet from LSU coach Lane Kiffin on Saturday, Dec. 20, as Oregon stormed to a 27-3 lead over James Madison in the final game of the College Football Playoff’s first round.
Kiffin was being his facetious … but accurate.
Alabama-Oklahoma saved the four first-round games, the Tide rallying from a 17-point deficit to win 34-24 in Norman.
But Miami-Texas A&M? A 10-3 win for the Hurricanes. Boring.
Tulane-Ole Miss? Rebels, 41-10. Yawn.
JMU-Oregon? Ducks, 51-34. Zzzzz.
It was like the opening two days of the NCAA Tournament, when the up-and-comers reach the field, but get routed by a bigger program. Thing is, that event is now 68 teams; the CFP is 12 teams. The games shouldn’t be this uneventful, but that’s how it goes when the mandate isn’t automatically choosing the 12 best teams. Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, just to pick two, would have obviously fared better than Tulane and JMU.
Here are 12 things about the CFP’s first round:
1. Alabama dug itself a 17-0 hole at Oklahoma and the Crimson Tide looked like it did while getting whipped by Florida State way back in August. Couldn’t tackle. Couldn’t run it. Couldn’t protect. Couldn’t throw. But then the flip switched, the kind of flip-switch that likely has Michigan recalibrating its coaching search and the Sooners searching for answers.
2. Notepad jottings when it was 17-0: Tide coach Kalen DeBoer should listen to Michigan’s offer. … Why can’t the Tide pass protect? … Quarterback Ty Simpson’s draft stock is plummeting. … Receiver Ryan Williams can’t catch the football. … Notre Dame should be ticked off. … Is it too late to run to downtown Denver to check out the Winnipeg Jets-Colorado Avalanche game?
3. But what a comeback for Alabama … and what a collapse for Oklahoma. The Sooners gave up a 10-yard touchdown pass on fourth down (three missed tackles); punter Grayson Miller dropped a snap, leading to a Tide field goal; and the Tide’s Zabien Brown intercepted John Mateer for a 50-yard touchdown. And the nightmare was just starting. The Sooners botched the clock at the end of the first half and later missed two field goals. Oklahoma’s last 10 possessions: Five punts, two missed field goals, one turnover, one touchdown and the end-of-first-half sequence.
4.Now what for Michigan? I can’t imagine the disgraced Wolverines program wants to wait for DeBoer and he shouldn’t want to leave Alabama anyway. Arizona State’s Kenny Dillingham, my second choice for the Florida job after Lane Kiffin, signed an extension this weekend so he’s out. Does the road eventually lead to former Jaguars offensive coordinator/current Washington coach Jedd Fisch?
5. Did first-round wins by Alabama and Miami justify the committee’s decision to include the three-loss Tide and the two-loss Hurricanes over Notre Dame? Let’s just say the committee was fortunate (not so much with Tulane and James Madison).
6. Texas A&M started 11-0, but lost 27-17 at Texas (which cost the Aggies an SEC title-game berth and a first-round bye) and to Miami. Coach Mike Elko will demand answers about the A&M running game, which gained 89 yards on 35 carries (2.5-yard average) and an offense that turned it over three times. Turns out A&M wasn’t elite. Its non-Notre Dame/non-league schedule was a joke (UTSA, Utah State and Samford) and in SEC play, it beat four teams that will have new coaches in 2026.
7. Miami quarterback Carson Beck (Jacksonville/Mandarin High) was injured and unable to play in last year’s CFP for Georgia, but is now in the quarterfinals against Ohio State on Dec. 31. Beck was 14-of-20 passing for 103 yards and the game-winning 11-yard touchdown pass to receiver Malachi Toney with 1:44 left. Beck is now 35-5 in his starting career.
8. Miami defender Rueben Bain had three sacks. That’s how you begin the process of moving from a top-10 pick in the 2026 draft to being in the conversation for the first non-quarterback selected.
9. Jon Sumrall, you are free to swap out your Tulane threads for Florida gear after the Green Wave was handled by Ole Miss. Tulane’s last chance at making its game interesting was after making it 14-3, it forced an Ole Miss punt, but was unable to capitalize. The Rebels led 17-3 at halftime and 27-3 after three quarters.
10. In two wins over Tulane, Ole Miss outscored the Green wave 86-10. This rematch made by the CFP committee had snoozer written all over it. Yes, the Rebels sent Kiffin packing to LSU, but they still had new coach/defensive coordinator Pete Golding and offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr., calling the plays.
11. It was a bad Dec. 20 for the Group of Five brigade. On the national television stage, Tulane had no answers and JMU couldn’t stop Oregon. The Ducks led 34-6 at halftime and rolled up 514 yards offense, including a 7.7-yard average per rushing attempt.
12. The hope is a chalky first round leads to some awesome semifinal games. Ohio State (over Miami) and Indiana (over Alabama) should be touchdown favorites, but business picks up with Oregon-Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl and Ole Miss-Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. The early lean is a final four of Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon and Georgia.
Contact O’Halloran at rohalloran@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Alabama's comeback only true highlight of CFP opening weekend
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