The first week of college football is in the books. Each week I will take you through who I see the final four teams in the College Football Playoff will be if the season ended today. It’s only week one so there won’t be anything too crazy this week. Well that’s unless you thought my initial final four is crazy which is perfectly fine too. Let’s get to my picks if I was a selection committee of one.
#1 Florida State Seminoles
FSU beat Oklahoma State last week 37-31 in a game that many people had being a blowout for FSU. Last year’s Heisman winner Jameis Winston was good but not quite up to his normal standards, throwing a couple of picks. The passing game was working well at times though since WR Rashad Greene was ACC player of the week with 11 receptions for a career-high 203 yards and a touchdown. Florida State fans won’t want to hear this, but it is good for the Noles to have some close games to get battle tested as they start the quest to repeat as champions.
#2 Auburn Tigers
The key to Auburn’s season was on full display on Saturday in the win against Arkansas. We know they will put up points on anybody. The key for them to make the initial final four is to play better defense this season. Backup QB Jeremy Johnson threw for 243 yards and 2 TDs in the first half but it was 21-21 at the half. It wasn’t until the second half when Auburn’s defense woke up and didn’t allow another point in the game. Furthermore, Auburn only allowed 62 yards of offense in the second half. The Tigers out gained Arkansas 595-328 in a game that got out of hand eventually.
#3 Oregon Ducks
Oregon came out and did exactly what they tend to do with team’s that just can’t matchup with them. They blasted them. My Heisman front runner Marcus Mariota came out of the gate hitting on all cylinders and guided the offense the three first quarter TDs. He didn’t play in the second half after throwing for 267 yards and three touchdowns plus running for one more score. The biggest news to come out of this game was star CB Iko Ekpre-Olomu left the game in the first half with a foot/ankle injury. I’m sure Coach Helfrich will be asked the status of his injury on the conference call later today and I will update on his status. We will know much more about Oregon after they play Michigan State this Saturday in Eugene.
#4 Georgia Bulldogs
I can hear all the fan bases that I passed over pounding their keyboards right now. Yes Georgia is the 4th team in MY final four right now. Which also means that as of right now I have the result that a lot of the country is dreading: two SEC teams in the initial CFB Playoff. The Bulldogs were my preseason pick to be in the four and didn’t do anything to sway me from that. Todd Gurley set a UGA record with 293 all-purpose yards in the 45-21 win over Clemson. A healthy Todd Gurley is a scary proposition for defenses that Georgia will face as he is my clear #1 RB in the country. Clemson put up a good fight in the first half but failed to score a point in the second half. If Georgia stays healthy, they will be dangerous this season.