{"id":812808,"date":"2024-12-18T22:11:59","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T04:11:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/18\/one-big-advantage-for-all-eight-teams-in-first-round-of-college-football-playoff\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T22:11:59","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T04:11:59","slug":"one-big-advantage-for-all-eight-teams-in-first-round-of-college-football-playoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2024\/12\/18\/one-big-advantage-for-all-eight-teams-in-first-round-of-college-football-playoff\/","title":{"rendered":"One big advantage for all eight teams in first round of College Football Playoff"},"content":{"rendered":"

Football <\/p>\n

\n

The odds for the College Football Playoff’s first-round are not particularly tight: Each is more than a touchdown with Texas laying 11.5 points at home vs. Clemson marking the biggest spread. Nevertheless, the lines suggest one-score games throughout, which will be great television (and though last year’s CFP seminfinals were bangers, usually they had not been very good).\u00a0 <\/p>\n

This is going to be an awesome foray into the expanded 12-team CFP era because, true to the 2024 season, we think each team has a chance to make noise. <\/p>\n

With the help of data from TruMedia, these are the matchup advantages each team can hang its hat on in the first-round games.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Football \t(10) Indiana at (7) Notre Dame<\/strong> <\/h2>\n

When:<\/strong>\u00a08 p.m. ET on Dec. 20 (ESPN, ABC)
Where:<\/strong>\u00a0Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
\tWinner plays: <\/strong>(2) Georgia in Sugar Bowl <\/p>\n

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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Indiana: Natural pressure <\/h3>\n

Indiana’s defense thrives by generating pressure on the quarterback without relying on blitzing. With a 39% QB pressure rate, ranking third in the nation, the Hoosiers disrupt opposing offenses while maintaining a solid secondary. Notre Dame, despite a strong offensive line, struggles under quick pressure, ranking 129th in average time to pressure allowed at 2.41 seconds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nIND Defense<\/th>\nND Offense<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
QB Pressure %<\/td>\n39% (3rd)<\/td>\n26% (55th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Avg Time to Pressure<\/td>\n2.40 sec (10th)<\/td>\n2.41 sec (129th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Notre Dame: ‘Middle 8’ execution <\/h3>\n

The Fighting Irish excel in controlling the “Middle 8” – -the last four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. At home, Notre Dame has outscored opponents 52-0 in this critical stretch, leveraging their disciplined play to swing momentum. In contrast, Indiana has struggled on the road during this span, posting a -5-point margin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nIND (Road)<\/th>\nND (Home)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Points Scored<\/td>\n19 (70th)<\/td>\n52 (13th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Points Allowed<\/td>\n24 (T-59th)<\/td>\n0 (T-1st)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Points Margin<\/td>\n-5 (T-66th)<\/td>\n+52 (2nd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Notre Dame vs. Indiana:<\/strong> Key advantages for each team in first-round College Football Playoff game<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

Football (11)\u00a0SMU<\/a>\u00a0at (6)\u00a0Penn State<\/a> <\/h2>\n

When:<\/strong>\u00a012 p.m. ET on Dec. 21(TNT\/MAX)
Where:<\/strong>\u00a0Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania \t
Winner plays:<\/strong> (3) Boise State in Fiesta Bowl \t <\/p>\n

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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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SMU: Jennings thrives in chaos <\/h3>\n

SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings has been a model of efficiency under pressure this season. Ranking second in the FBS with a 156.4 passer efficiency rating when pressured, Jennings thrives in chaos. His ability to deliver in these situations could neutralize Penn State’s hellacious defensive front, which generates pressure 38.5% of the time, ranking 14th nationally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nFBS Rank<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass Efficiency<\/td>\n156.4 (2nd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Yards\/Attempt<\/td>\n9.8 (2nd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass TD<\/td>\n8 (T-2nd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass Yards<\/td>\n846 (3rd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Completion %<\/td>\n52.3% (10th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Penn State: Warren could shred <\/h3>\n

SMU’s defense has allowed 627 receiving yards to tight ends this season, ranking 129th in the FBS. Penn State’s Mackey Award-winning tight end Tyler Warren is primed to exploit this weakness. Warren holds the Big Ten record for receiving yards by a tight end in a single season and ranks second nationally in that category. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nTyler Warren<\/th>\nSMU Defense<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Receptions<\/td>\n88 (3rd)<\/td>\n56 (130th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Receiving Yards<\/td>\n1,062 (2nd)<\/td>\n627 (129th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Receiving TD<\/td>\n6 (T-6th)<\/td>\n7 (T-117th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Penn State vs. SMU: <\/strong>Key advantages for each team in first-round College Football Playoff game<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

Football (12) Clemson at (5) Texas <\/h2>\n

When:<\/strong>\u00a04 p.m. ET on Dec. 21 (TNT\/MAX)
Where:<\/strong>\u00a0Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas
\tWinner plays: <\/strong>(4) Arizona State in Peach Bowl <\/p>\n

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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Clemson: Klubnik loves zone <\/h3>\n

Texas relies on zone coverage for 78% of its defensive snaps, ranking 21st nationally in usage. This plays directly into Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik’s strengths. Klubnik has thrown 21 touchdown passes against zone coverage this season, the most in the FBS.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nFBS Rank<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass TD<\/td>\n21 (1st)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Completions<\/td>\n206 (12th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass Yards<\/td>\n2,491 (12th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass Efficiency<\/td>\n154.7 (15th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Texas: Explosives in chunks <\/h3>\n

For all the grief Ewers gets, Texas does thrive on explosive passing plays, ranking third in the FBS with 65 completions of 20+ yards. This could spell trouble for Clemson, whose defense has allowed 41 such plays, ranking T-92nd nationally. Texas’ ability to rack up chunk plays will be a big factor — and it would be especially nice for the Longhorns if they could house one or two of those explosives, considering the recent red zone issues.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nClemson DEF<\/th>\nTexas OFF<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
20+ Yd Pass Plays<\/td>\n41 (T-92nd)<\/td>\n65 (3rd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass TD<\/td>\n21 (T-95th)<\/td>\n34 (T-3rd)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Texas vs. Clemson:\u00a0<\/strong>Key advantages for each team in first-round College Football Playoff game<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

Football (8) Tennessee at (9) Ohio State <\/h2>\n

When:<\/strong>\u00a08 p.m. ET on Dec. 20 (ABC\/ESPN)
Where:<\/strong>\u00a0Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio
\tWinner plays: <\/strong>(1) Oregon in Rose Bowl <\/p>\n

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\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Tennessee: Stout run ‘D’ <\/h3>\n

The Volunteers have also excelled at stopping the run, allowing just 99.6 yards per game, ranking 8th in the FBS. Ohio State’s rushing offense, averaging 169.2 yards per game (59th), faces a tough challenge in breaking through Tennessee’s front line. The Buckeyes have two household names at running back in Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson, but their offensive line, which lost two starters to season-ending injuries, puts them at a disadvantage here.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nTENN Defense<\/th>\nOSU Offense<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Rush Yards\/Game<\/td>\n99.6 (8th)<\/td>\n169.2 (59th)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
\n <\/p>\n
\"Football<\/figure>\n

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Ohio State: Comfy at home <\/h3>\n

The Buckeyes have been nearly impenetrable against the pass at home, allowing just 105.0 passing yards per game, the best mark in the FBS. Tennessee’s passing attack, averaging 197.4 yards per game in road\/neutral environments (92nd), faces a steep uphill battle. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Metric<\/th>\nTENN Offense away<\/th>\nOSU Defense at home<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
Pass Yards\/Game<\/td>\n197.4 (92nd)<\/td>\n105.0 (1st)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Ohio State vs. Tennessee:<\/strong> Key advantages for each team in first-round College Football Playoff game<\/a><\/span> <\/p>\n

SportsLine’s proven computer model is calling for 10 outright upsets during college football’s bowl and playoff season.\u00a0<\/em>Visit SportsLine now to see them all, plus get spread picks for every game<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from the model that simulates every matchup 10,000 times.<\/em><\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a> Ryan McGrady<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The odds for the College Football Playoff’s first-round are not particularly tight: Each is more than a touchdown with Texas laying 11.5 points at home vs. Clemson marking the biggest spread. Nevertheless, the lines suggest one-score games throughout, which will be great television (and though last year’s CFP seminfinals were bangers, usually they had not<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":812809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[186,548,3790],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-812808","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-advantage","8":"category-eight","9":"category-football"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/812809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}