Ohio State, Indiana teams to beat in College Football Playoff
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The field is set. The controversy will linger. The outcome is far from certain.
Such is the state of the 12-team 2025 College Football Playoff, which includes Miami, excludes Notre Dame and actually has a pair of Group of 5 teams in James Madison and Tulane.
While next year's field likely will be expanded to 16 teams – no worries, the angst will remain – the winner among this year's dozen teams is no sure shot. Ohio State appeared to be the dominant team for most of the season until Indiana stunned the Buckeyes for the Big Ten championship. Those two are at the top of most predictions, but no one is counting out Georgia after its demolishment of Alabama in the SEC championship game. Oregon and Texas Tech are very good on both sides of the ball and certainly capable of taking home the championship trophy if things fall right.
As for the Hurricanes, they will be playing with a giant chip on their shoulder pads after almost being snubbed by the playoff committee until they leaped over the Fighting Irish to make the field. Can they channel that anger into accomplishment on the football field?
The Palm Beach Post asked noted sports handicapper Danny Sheridan to rank the playoff field. Here are his odds and our comments on all the teams:
Indiana 5-2: Dream football season for Hoosiers
The Hoosiers have never sniffed the rarified air of national football champions – basketball, yes – but here they are after winning their first Big Ten football title in 58 years. Led by sure-to-win Heisman Trophy quarterback Francisco Mendoza, a Miami native, Indiana has a pair of receivers who match anyone in the country in Elijah Sarratt and Omar Cooper Jr., and a defense that held Ohio State to its lowest point total in its last 18 games. Plus, coach Curt Cignetti has never tossed a chair onto a basketball court.
Ohio State 5-2: Defending champions been here before
The Buckeyes have made it a habit of losing a late-season game, then bouncing back to win the big one. Most think this year will be no exception for the defending national champions. Ohio State is loaded with NFL talent, most notably receiver Jeremiah Smith and safety Caleb Downs, and quarterback Julian Sayin has been among the Heisman contenders all season.
Georgia 5-1: Carries SEC banner after smacking Tide
The Bulldogs put away the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game like they put most opponents away – with a brutal defense and a solid, but not spectacular, offense. Over the last four games, the maturing defense, that includes two freshmen, has allowed 7.3 points per game, forced three-and-outs 41 percent of the time and allowed opponents to score touchdowns in the red zone 17 percent of the time.
Oregon 7-1: Ducks more well-rounded team
The defense finally caught up to the offense this season. That defense allowed 20 yards or more on 3.3% of its plays, the least in college football, and forced three-and-outs on 42% of their opponents' drives. Of course, that offense remains spectacular. Quarterback Dante Moore usually had plenty of time to pass operating behind one of the best lines in college football. The Ducks have the ninth best rushing offense in the nation and Moore was sacked 14 times.
Texas Tech 9-1: Red Raiders defense is spectacular
The Red Raiders have two of the best linebackers in the country in Jacob Rodriguez and Ben Roberts and the rest of that unit ain't bad. Quarterback Behren Morton has battled injuries. When healthy, he led an offense that averaged 40.8 points per game against its last six opponents.
Texas A&M 20-1: Aggies can score quickly
The Aggies have scored more than 40 points seven times, boasting a speedy WR corps and efficient passing and running game. On defense, end Cashius Howell (11.5 sacks) led a unit that enjoys teeing off on the quarterback. One edge they will have over the Hurricanes is their home stadium, Kyle Field, where a sellout crowd will be very loud.
Miami 30-1: Carson Beck in spotlight as usual
Inexplicable losses to Louisville and SMU led to a lot of worried fans in Coral Gables. But once the playoff committee came to its senses and realized that UM defeated Notre Dame, the Canes were in. QB Carson Beck is the key on offense and must avoid turnovers. And please keep Coach Mario Cristobal away from any late-game, on-field decisions.
Alabama 30-1: Crimson Tide in playoffs despite 3 losses
You just knew that the first team in the college football playoffs with three losses would be an SEC team. That it's the Crimson Tide – with one of those losses coming against Florida State – is somewhat surprising. Despite a lopsided loss to the Bulldogs in the SEC title game, Alabama is still Alabama and it handed Georgia its lone loss. Quarterback Ty Simpson is always dangerous as his season stats – 3,268 passing yards, 64% completion rate, 26 TDs, 5 INTs – prove.
Ole Miss 30-1: Lane Kiffin Who?
Lane Kiffin is now the head coach at LSU and Pete Golding is running the show in Oxford. The Rebels have enough talent to overcome Kiffin's exit but it's the intangibles they will miss – Kiffin's aggressive play-calling (especially on fourth downs) and the attitude he passed along to his players. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a passing/running threat who replaced Austin Simmons in Week 3, was named the SEC's "Newcomer of the Year."
Oklahoma 50-1: Sooners will rely on their defense
The Sooners win with defense, especially up front where Taylor Wein and Gracen Halton have combined for 24 tackles for loss and should be getting linemate R Mason Thomas back from injury. They led the country in sacks (3.4 per game) and tackles for loss (9.6 per game). The offense is not as good but, somehow, Oklahoma scored on all of its red-zone opportunities this season.
James Madison 750-1: Defense has to play lights out
The Dukes are very good on defense – second in the nation 247.6 yards allowed per game – but will they be able to stop Oregon? On offense, they like to run the ball, having rushed for 411 yards in their Sun Belt Conference championship game win over Troy State. Unlike Kiffin and Ole Miss, their head coach, Bob Chesney, will coach the Dukes through the playoffs despite accepting the UCLA job earlier this month.
Tulane 1,000-1: Green
Tulane struggled to defeat Florida Atlantic 35-24 in an American Athletic Conference game on Nov. 15, allowing Owls quarterback Caden Veltkamp to pass for 375 yards and two TDs. The Green Wave will struggle even more against Kiffin-less Ole Miss.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia favored to win national championship
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