The NCAA College Football Playoff for 2014 is getting closer and the predictions for the semifinal games have Alabama winning against Ohio State and Oregon winning against Florida State, putting number one and number two against each other for the national championship at AT&T Stadium in Dallas, which is on the schedule on January 12.
The first semifinal game is on Thursday, January 1 at 5 pm ET with the Oregon Ducks taking on the Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl. The second semi will be at 8:30 pm ET and has Alabama taking on Ohio State at the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes and Crimson Tide matchup has Nick Saban and Urban Meyer matching up, while the Rose Bowl has the last two Heisman winners with Marcus Mariota and Jameis Winston playing against each other.
Alabama comes into the game as the top ranked team in the nation, while Ohio State is number four after beating out TCU and Baylor. Alabama is 12-1 on the season after going 5-1 against the top 25 and the SEC West division. The Crimson Tide have the fourth ranked defense in points allowed per game this season in the nation and they are scoring 37 points per contest to rank 17th. Amari Cooper was a Heisman finalist and along with Derrick Henry and TJ Yeldon, Blake Sims has plenty of weapons to pick from.
Ohio State is onto their third quarterback this season, but the Buckeyes showed the Badgers that it wasn't an issue and now they will try against Alabama. The Buckeyes come into the game after a 59-0 shutout against Wisconsin and they are ranked fourth in the nation in scoring and 23rd in points against on defense. Ohio State is a very good team, but Alabama is better and they will pull this game out.
Florida State comes in undefeated, but they are ranked third since they have not been that impressive and have played against a mostly weak schedule. Oregon comes into the game with one loss and they are the Pac-12 champs and one of the best offensive teams in the nation. FSU has not played as well on defense compared to last season and now they matchup with Mariota and the high-powered Ducks.
The matchup with Alabama and Oregon is a very hard game to pick, as both teams are so strong on both sides of the ball. The game likely will come down to whether the Alabama defense can stop the Oregon offense and whether Cooper and Sims can put up enough points to keep up with the Ducks. The matchup comes on January 12 after the first ever college football playoff.