As the regular season of Division 1 College Football ends, the playoffs have begun. Many people expect the top seeds from the regular season to go the farthest during the playoffs. Surprisingly, by the second round, both of the top seeds have been eliminated. The teams being No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Georgia.
Sophomore Sunny Ostendorf believes “the top seeds being eliminated comes down to how the playoffs were set up this year.”
Many students are shocked by this unexpected turnout, especially Sophomore Omari Colbourne, as he explains, “although I hoped for Ohio to make it to the national championship, I didn’t expect them to beat the No. 1 seed Oregon, especially the way that they did.”
The playoffs is a 12 team post season, which includes all of the top teams from the division. The playoffs were a 4 team single elimination until 2023, which the playoffs then changed to a 12 team playoff. This then gives some teams another chance. Yet, this extra chance, led to all of the top seeds being eliminated and the lower seeds making it farther.
Boise State and Arizona State also received bye weeks, although being ranked #9 and #12. Bye weeks are weeks that a certain team does not have a game. Yet, the week break that these two teams received did not help with anything, since both of them lost the first game that they played in the playoffs. Although these teams were ranked lower, they still received the bye week before #3 Texas and #4 Penn State.
Even though Texas and Penn State made it through the first two rounds, they were eliminated in the 3rd round by #5 Notre Dame and #6 Ohio State. These two teams played each other in the College Football Playoff Championship. Ohio State dominated Notre Dame, with the score ending up at 34-23.
Leaving fans in shock, with these unexpected results, the new 12 team playoff gave many teams chances, especially the underdogs, Ohio State and Notre Dame. With this ending, it only highlights the unpredictable nature of the playoffs.