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NCAA College Football Playoff games
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Fearless Rick & Coin Flip NCAA CFP First Round Games
All times Eastern
Click here for Bowl Week 1 games.
Friday, December 19
9 Alabama (-1.5, 41) at 8 Oklahoma 8:00 pm (ABC/ESPN) - This is a SEC rematch from a little more than a month ago, a November 15 meeting at Alabama, won by Oklahoma, 23-21.
Beating a team twice in the same season is a difficult proposition at best. When a rematch occurs in a national championship playoff setting, the planning and strategies are amped up considerably.
10-2 Oklahoma lost just two games, both to SEC teams, Texas, 23-6, and Ole Miss, 34-26. 10-3 Alabama lost its season opener at Florida State, 31-17, but then won eight straight, four of them against ranked SEC foes, until the Oklahoma loss. They handed Georgia its only loss of the season, 24-21, in Athens, only to lose to the Bulldogs, 28-7, in the SEC championship. These are two very solid football teams and very evenly matched, but don’t expect a lot of scoring, as each of these powerhouses lean heavily on their defense.
Oklahoma is #9 in yards allowed and 7th in points allowed. Alabama is #9th and 12th, respectively. Slight edge to the Sooners at home.
Coin Flip: Alabama
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Sooners 21 Crimson Tide 17
10 Miami at 7 Texas A&M (-3, 51.5) 12:00 pm (ABC/ESPN) - if the Alabama-Oklahoma match-up isn’t an offensive showcase, the Aggies and Hurricanes will make up for it, though Miami has a defense that can handle just about any college condition. They are #6 in points allowed (13.8), though part of that may be because of their ACC schedule. Texas A&M allows 21.9 points per game, but they win mostly by just plain outscoring the opposition.
Putting up a load of points on the Hurricanes may not be so easy, even for the Aggies, who put up 36.3 per outing. Miami is right there, at 34.1. This game breaks down fairly even, with A&M giving the usual three points for home field advantage. It may not matter, the Hurricanes have a very efficient offense and a solid defense capable of putting the kibosh on A&M’s high-octane Marcel Reed, KC Concepcion and company. Turnovers could be a difference-maker.
Coin Flip: Miami
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Hurricanes 31 Aggies 27
Now, that may sound impressive, but, Ole Miss is 11-1, their lone loss a 43-35 barn-burner at Georgia. And, while head coach Lane Kiffin won’t be on the sideline, having taken the top coaching job at LSU, the players and remaining coaches know they have a chance to win a national championship. They won’t take Tulane lightly and could turn this into a rout by halftime.
Coin Flip: Ole Miss
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Rebels 42 Green Wave 14
The Dukes arrive at the CFP via the egalitarian nature of the selection process, the “Rule of 5” ceding five spots to the five highest-ranked conference champions including from the “Group of Five” from the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt conferences. The Dukes won the Sun Belt and are ranked 12th, with a 12-1 mark on the season. The only game they played against a team that was ranked during the regular season was a September loss at Louisville, 28-14. The Cardinals were not ranked at the time, but were ranked as high as #15 in Week 11.
So, if a team that was ranked no higher than 15 beat them by two touchdowns, shouldn’t #5 Oregon beat them by more?
Coin Flip: Oregon
Fearless Rick’s Pick: Ducks 42 Dukes 13
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