By: Megan Saul

Culture Editor

With many changes to the College Football Playoffs format this year, the competition has been like no other. In the past, teams played in a four-team playoff format. The top four teams played in the semi-finals on New Year’s Day as a part of either the Goodyear Cotton Bowl, Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, Capital One Orange Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, Rose Bowl, or All-State Sugar Bowl. They then went on to compete against each other for the championship. This year, 12 teams compete in the playoffs, including the five conference winners and another seven highly ranked teams determined by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. There are four different rounds within the updated playoffs: the first round with the seeds five through 12, quarterfinals where the top four teams play the winners of the first round, the semifinals, and eventually the finals, totaling 11 games. 

On Jan. 9, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish played against the Penn State Nittany Lions at the Orange Bowl. Notre Dame won the game 27-24, allowing their season to continue. Stand-out players for Notre Dame include quarterback Riley Leonard, running back Jeremiyah Love, and wide receiver Jaden Greathouse. On the opposing team, quarterback Drew Aller, running back Nicholas Singleton, and tight end Tyler Warren put up a good fight. The Texas Longhorns and the Ohio State Buckeyes played in the second semifinal game, the Cotton Bowl Classic, on the following day, Jan. 10, which was different from the format of the past years, where both played on the same day. Ohio State came out of the game victorious against Texas. Winning 28-14, Ohio State continued to the finals. Quarterback Will Howard, running back TreVeyon Henderson, and defensive end Jack Sawyer had outstanding performances, as did Texas players quarterback Quinn Ewers, running back Quintrevion Wisner, and running back Jaydon Blue.    

On Monday, Jan. 20, Ohio State and Notre Dame played for the College Football Playoff National Championship trophy. This game occurred in Atlanta, Georgia. Ohio State came out on top, winning with a score of 34-23. Following the game, Howard said, “I don’t have the words, man. They’ve changed my life in more ways than I can say, man.”

After the conclusion of this new College Football Playoff format, many teams and viewers have mixed feelings over whether this system is successful. For example, this new playoff format positively affected some teams, such as Ohio State and Notre Dame, while it hurt Oregon, the number one seed going into the playoffs. As the contract for this year’s playoff expires after this season, officials may make more changes to the format for next year’s playoffs. 

(Sources: College Football Playoff, ESPN NCAA, NY Times)