The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff is down to just four schools, and only three games remain before a national champion is crowned. Though the season is winding down, there is plenty of drama left to unfold, starting with the Orange Bowl on Thursday and the Cotton Bowl on Friday serving as the semifinal games.
The Orange Bowl pits (7) Notre Dame against (6) Penn State in a battle of historic powers seeking to snap national title droughts that date back to the 1980s. Both the Fighting Irish and Nittany Lions are run-first teams that rely heavily on stingy defenses, which should make for an evenly matched battle. The all-time series is tied at 9-9-1, but the schools last met in 2007 and haven’t played in the postseason since a 20-9 Notre Dame victory in the 1976 Sun Bowl.
Then, on Friday comes a Cotton Bowl showdown between (5) Texas and (8) Ohio State. It’s a battle between arguably the two most valuable collegiate athletic brands in the country. While the Longhorns will be playing in their home state, they’ll be forced to reckon with a resurgent Ohio State team that has steamrolled Tennessee and Oregon amid a head-turning CFP run.
CBS Sports experts have filed their picks for the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff, so let’s have a look at what to expect.
All times Eastern
Orange Bowl: (7) Notre Dame vs. (6) Penn State
7:30 p.m. (Thursday) | ESPN, fubo (Try for free) — It seems like, at some point, all of the injuries will catch up to Notre Dame. The Irish are in an especially precarious position if Love can’t play given what he means to the offense. Yet, Notre Dame has more than made do with its lot as the Irish have continued carving a path of dominance all the way through the postseason against teams deemed by the selection committee as worthy of playing for a national championship. Notre Dame’s played dominant along the lines of scrimmage, and it has a proven winner at quarterback in Riley Leonard, who has literally put his body on the line to keep his team’s hopes alive. I’m not going to pick against the Irish at this point; they’ve shown no signs of slowing down. Pick: Notre Dame -2.5 — Will Backus
Cotton Bowl Bowl: (8) Ohio State vs. (5) Texas
7:30 p.m. (Friday) | ESPN, fubo (Try for free) — Texas has put together a solid season and is surely one of the best teams in the country. But if Ohio State’s transformation over the last two weeks is permanent, the Buckeyes are the best team in the country. The Longhorns will be able to cause problems for Ohio State’s passing game, but their offense simply won’t be able to put up points in a battle of two elite defense. The Buckeyes will outlast them. Pick: Ohio State -5.5 — Shehan Jeyarajah
SportsLine’s proven computer model is calling for 10 outright upsets during college football’s bowl and playoff season. Visit SportsLine now to see them all, plus get spread picks for every game from the model that simulates every matchup 10,000 times.
