BCS Predictions: Oklahoma, Ohio State Top Seeds in Playoffs

College football needs a playoff system. However, that is the subject of other articles. Let's pretend there is one, and see what happens. This article is based on my previous article, BCS Bowl Predictions: Ohio State and Oklahoma Claim Top Spots.

Rather than be satisfied with the normal BCS bowl games, I decided to take it a step further. I seeded eight teams in a playoff system and predicted who won each game. I also declared a national champion. Read on.

Final BCS Poll

  1.  Oklahoma (13-0)
  2.  Ohio State (12-0)
  3.  Georgia (12-1)
  4.  USC (11-1)
  5.  Florida (11-1)
  6.  Clemson (12-1)
  7.  South Florida (11-1)
  8.  Missouri (11-2)
  9.  North Carolina (11-2)
 10. West Virginia (10-2)
 11. Utah (11-1)
 12. Michigan State (10-2)
 13. Tennessee (10-2)
 14. Texas (10-2)
 15. Wake Forest (10-2)
 16. Wisconsin (9-3)
 17. Brigham Young (10-2)
 18. Texas Tech (9-3)
 19. Washington (10-2)
 20. Penn State (9-3)
 21. LSU (9-3)
 22. Auburn (9-4)
 23. Florida State (9-3)
 24. Arizona State (9-3)
 25. Fresno State (10-2)

In order to create a playoff, eight teams would be best to compete. Each conference champion would be a lock, as well as any non-BCS teams that would qualify for a BCS berth under the BCS selection rules.

Therefore, using my final BCS poll, the following teams would be included: Oklahoma, Ohio State, Georgia, USC, Florida, Clemson, Utah, and West Virginia. South Florida, Missouri, and North Carolina would not be eligible because they are not conference champions. South Florida would have been included if it wasn't for Utah. The playoff seeds would be as follows:

Playoff Seeds

 1.  Oklahoma
 2.  Ohio State
 3.  Georgia
 4.  USC
 5.  Florida
 6.  Clemson
 7.  West Virginia
 8.  Utah

The seeds determine the team matchups. The top seed faces the bottom seed, the second seed faces the seventh seed, etc. Therefore, these would be the playoff matches. The projected winners are in bold and italics.

First-Round Playoff Matchups

 1. Oklahoma vs. 8. Utah
 2. Ohio State vs. 7. West Virginia
 3. Georgia vs. 6. Clemson
 4. USC vs. 5. Florida

Oklahoma will burst Utah's bubble early by beating them handily. Ohio State will win an interesting matchup by a close margin as it struggles defending the spread offense. West Virginia's defense won't be able to stop the Ohio State offense. Georgia will beat Clemson by a decent margin. Florida will upset USC in possibly the most exciting matchup of the playoffs.

Now it's time for the Final Four. Once again, the projected winners are in bold and italics.

Final Four Matchups

 1. Oklahoma vs. 5. Florida
 2. Ohio State vs. 3. Georgia

The top-two seeds advance to stun the SEC. Oklahoma holds off a Florida team that almost pulls off another upset. Oklahoma's defense makes enough stops to slide into the national championship. Tim Tebow has a good game, but it's not good enough. Ohio State finally proves it can beat an SEC team by nipping Georgia. Terrelle Pryor saves the Buckeyes in this game as he makes a few big plays down the stretch, and the Buckeyes defense holds Knowshon Moreno in check to secure a berth in the national championship.

BCS National Championship Game

 1. Oklahoma vs. 2. Ohio State

The third time is the charm for the Ohio State Buckeyes. A magical season comes to an end with them on the top again. They finally beat an SEC team on their way to a second national championship under coach Jim Tressel.

Oklahoma puts up a fight but the very balanced Buckeyes prove to be too tough. Todd Boeckman struggles again in the spotlight, but is saved by Chris Wells, who becomes one of the few players to perform well in the championship game after winning the Heisman Trophy.

The Ohio State Redeem Team is no longer criticized around the nation, except for their fans. Columbus is declared a national disaster zone after rioting engulfs the entire city.