By Jonathan Sawyer
Sports Editor
After three and a half grueling months of tough games, big upsets and big plays: The College Football Playoff has finally been picked. The four teams that will play for the National Championship are Alabama Crimson Tide, Ohio State Buckeyes, Clemson Tigers and Washington Huskies.
The past two weeks, analysts all around the country have had many different combinations of playoff teams and to make it easy on the College Football Playoff Committee, all the teams that are in it this year won their respected championship games and final game of the season.
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #4 Washington Huskies
The SEC Champ versus the PAC-12 Champ. All year, the Huskies have been criticized for their non-conference play and that they will not compete at the playoff level. They will have their hands full with the Crimson Tide as the Tide have pretty much walked into the College Football Playoff.
The Huskies are led by Jake Browning, who was all over the Heisman Trophy watch list all year, threw for 3,280 yards and passing for 42 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Browning will be a problem for the Crimson Tide, as he can scramble out of the pocket and hurt them with either his legs or his arm. His ability to find the open receiver and place the football in good locations so his receivers can go and get the ball is tough for defenses. Myles Gaskin rushed for 1,339 yard and 10 touchdowns, and John Ross received 1,122 yards for 17 touchdowns on the year. Having a dual threat will be key to attack the Crimson Tide.
The Crimson Tide have done nothing but dominate their opponents this season. The closest game this season came against LSU in week nine, where the Tide won 10-0. The Crimson Tide were led by Jalen Hurts with 2,592 yards, throwing 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Hurts not only is effective with his arms but also rushed for 841 yards and 12 touchdowns. ArDarius Stewart led in receiving, picking up 852 yards and scoring eight touchdowns. The Tide not only has threats out of the offense, but their defense is one of the top in the nation having only given up 11.8 points per game.
#2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. #3 Clemson Tigers Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
The ACC Champ versus a team from the Big Ten. There was a lot of controversy surrounding the idea that the Buckeyes didn’t deserve to be where they are because they didn’t play for their conference championship. With that, the Buckeyes are in this position because, after a loss to Penn State (Big Ten Champions), they finished the season without a loss.
The Buckeyes are an up and down team, so why are they in the playoff? The Buckeyes have so much talent and are a lethal threat. Losing so much from last year’s team hurt the team depth-wise but the young guys have stepped up and have shown they belong.
The Tigers are the most underrated team in college football. They hit you with multiple factors and know how to battle game in and game out no matter if it’s a defensive game or light up the scoreboard type of game. They will continue to fight until the final seconds. The Tigers are led by DeShaun Watson, a Heisman Trophy candidate. He keeps this team going and will need to perform as the playoff inches closer.
As the college football season is coming to a close, so is my semester as a Sports Editor. It has been an amazing semester. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my writers, Ryan Signorino and Kiley O’Donnell, who have written week after week and given the paper and myself excellent work. Kiley will be our Assistant Sports Editor next semester.
Also a big thanks to my right-hand man, Mikael DeSanto. We were a great team together and put out a great paper week after week. These three covered games and did absolutely everything they could to make my semester go smoothly.
Mike will be taking over as the Sports Editor and I know the paper can only go up from there. Thank you to everyone at The B.V. for all your help and constant hard work.
sawyerjp15@bonaventure.edu
