CFP quarterfinals takeaways: Lane Kiffin is irrelevant for a day; new blood prevails over blue bloods
The College Football Playoff quarterfinals were dominated by defense until the last of the games provided the closest score in addition to dazzling offense and the third upset.With one game on New Year’s Eve and three on New Year’s Day, here are the most obvious takeaway takes on an appropriate theme ...Ohio State, Georgia and Alabama won four of the last five CFP championships and seven of the 11 since the CFP replaced the BCS in 2014.But those blue bloods are now singing the blues after falling in the quarterfinals.
After No.2 Ohio State was shocked by No.
10 Miami 24-14 on New Year’s Eve, No.9 Alabama was thoroughly embarrassed by No.
1 Indiana 38-3 and No.3 Georgia was upset by No.
6 Ole Miss 39-34 on Thursday.The most recent national champion of the teams advancing to the semifinals is Miami, which in 2001 capped a 12-0 season with a victory over Nebraska in the Rose Bowl.Ole Miss has to go back nearly to the leather helmet era for its 1960 national title and neither Indiana nor Oregon has ever won it all.The Rose Bowl should be hosting college football’s national championship game every year.
It shouldn’t be limited to just a quarterfinal game.Indiana was 9-27 from 2021 to 2024 before authoring an astounding turnaround the last two seasons, so please forgive ESPN’s Holly Rowe for asking coach Curt Cignetti after the win to explain why the moment wasn’t too big for the Hoosiers.And please forgive Cignetti for getting a tad testy.
“Why should [the moment] be too big, because our name is Indiana?” he said.“We’ve got a lot of veteran starters that played a lot of successful football in their careers.
They have high character.“We’ve come through in the clutch moments.
I’m proud of the way they responded and prepared and met this challenge.”The same certainly can be said of the other surviving teams.Bring on the new blood in the semifinals when Miami takes on Ole Miss in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan.
8 and Indiana faces Oregon in the...