Three college football playoff games will be at the center of the sports world on Saturday, December 21. Our top expert shares his 3 best bets in this piece! Enjoy the action and best of luck!
The 11-2 SMU Mustangs did just enough to get into this CFB Playoff. After an 11-1 regular season, they faced the Clemson Tigers in the ACC title game where their comeback bid fell short, and they lost 34-31. While the defense of the Mustangs is just outside the Top 50 in the country, they have made up for things with their high-powered offense.
The 38.5ppg they have averaged, is good enough for 9th in the country. Dual threat, Kevin Jennings, has contributed 27 total touchdowns on the year. Running back, Brashard Smith, has put up almost 1300 yards and scored 14 rushing touchdowns to go with 4 receiving touchdowns. The pair will need to be at the top of their game to get the upset win in Beaver Stadium.
It will be a whiteout at State College on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions finished the season with just 2 losses on the year. Those 2 losses came to Ohio State and Oregon, both teams are in the playoff and rank 6th and 1st in the country, respectively.
Penn State has relied heavily on their defense to get the job done this season. They are holding opponents to just 16.38ppg which is 14th in the country and has made up for an offense that has been anemic at times. Franklin should be wise to get do everything tight end, Tyler Warren, the ball any chance he gets in this one.
With a game in which there is a serious style clash, we like to lean towards the defense. In this case, that is the Nittany Lions.
This is going to be one of the wildest atmospheres that any SMU player will ever play in and that is going to be an advantage for the Nittany Lions. If the Penn State defense plays up to their potential, which we expect, they should have no trouble covering the number in this one.
It has been an up and down season for the Clemson Tigers. After an opening loss to Georgia, the Tigers bounced back with 6 straight wins. They then lost a rough one at home to Louisville that had many believing that would put them in serious jeopardy of making the postseason.
Luckily, they won 3 straight games before dropping what proved to be a meaningless game to South Carolina. They were already in the ACC title game and made the most of it by defeating SMU and winning their way into the playoff. Cade Klubnik made strides throughout the season at QB and has this Tigers offense playing at a high level.
The good news for Texas is that they are in the playoff, the bad news is, so is Georgia. The only losses of the season for Texas have come at the hands of the Georgia Bulldogs. However, that is not their opponent on Saturday.
Quinn Ewers is still nursing an injury, but the Texas offense has looked a bit shaky. They have been averaging just 21.75ppg over their last 4 games, compared to 33.6ppg they have been averaging on the season. They can ill-afford to take this Clemson team lightly whether it is Ewers or Manning spending most of the time under center.
Dabo Swinney has been in these type of games before and the experience he has had leading this team will pay dividends. The Longhorns offense just has not been impressive lately and that is going to be needed here against a Clemson team that will certainly put up some points.
We like Texas to get the win here, but for the Tigers to get the cover. Let’s take the points!
The Vols made up for an early season loss to Arkansas by defeating #7 Alabama and only losing one other game to Georgia. They are 13th in the country, scoring 37.3ppg. The defense has been even better, allowing just 13.92ppg which is 8th in the country. Offensively, the Vols have been leaning on a solid rushing attack. Dylan Sampson has rushed for nearly 1500 yards and 22 touchdowns on the season. Despite missing some time due to injuries, Nico Iamaleava has put together a solid season as well. He has a 152+ QBR and has thrown 19 touchdowns to just 5 interceptions.
Ohio State was having an incredible season, with their only loss to now #1 Oregon. That was before they faced their arch-rivals at home to end the season. The Buckeyes could not figure out the Michigan puzzle and fell 13-10 to close out their regular season.
They missed out on the Big 10 title game and have left Buckeye nation wondering if they even deserve to be in the playoff. The defense has been the biggest part of this team. The Buckeyes are holding opponents to just under 11ppg which is 3rd in the country. The offense has been balanced but not as explosive as many Buckeye teams in the past.
We believe the Buckeyes will be making a statement in this quarterfinal game. Do they deserve to be in this playoff? Absolutely!
Their defense will be keyed on shutting down the Vols’ rushing attack and will make Nico try to beat them through the air. Look for the Buckeyes to win this one going away.
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