College Football Playoff 2014: Full Bracket, Viewing Information for Semifinals
Welcome to the start of the bowl season. Instead of looking at the full slate on the first day of the bowl schedule, it's already time to look ahead at what college football fans have been waiting for all season.
On New Year's Day, the inaugural College Football Playoff will steal the show from the rest of the bowl games. Along with having four of the most notable programs in the sport, each team has been dominant throughout the season.
Between the Sugar Bowl and the Rose Bowl, football fans have everything they could ever want on the field. Prior to the kickoff in these two massive matchups, here's a look at the full bracket, schedule and analysis of the bowls.
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| Sugar | No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Ohio St. | Thur, Jan. 1 | 8:30 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
| Rose | No. 2 Oregon vs. No. 3 Florida St. | Thur, Jan. 1 | 5 p.m. | ESPN | WatchESPN |
Analysis of College Football Playoff
Storylines are abundant in the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl, but the biggest ones are under center and on the sidelines.
In the case of the Rose Bowl, the two quarterbacks both hold Heisman trophies after two outstanding seasons. Marcus Mariota, the Oregon signal-caller, has been nearly perfect all season, with 52 total touchdowns and only two interceptions.
Meanwhile, Jameis Winston has not been as great, with 27 total touchdowns and 17 interceptions. Kevin Gemmell of ESPN.com points out why the turnover margin will likely be the difference in the Rose Bowl:
"Oregon's 120 points off of turnovers ranks sixth nationally, and their points margin of 107 (120 points scored, 13 allowed after a turnover) is second best in the country behind TCU. Again, in this category, Florida State isn't so good. The Seminoles are actually in the negative in points margin at minus-10. They've scored 83 points off of turnovers, but allowed 93. That ranks in the bottom 20 of all Power 5 schools.
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Along with the two signal-callers, a duo of young running backs in Royce Freeman and Dalvin Cook will also make a huge difference. Both have come on strong and finished the season with authority to help lead their programs to the promised land.
Back on the East Coast, Alabama and Ohio State will do battle. Or, as most fans of both teams will refer to it, Nick Saban vs. Urban Meyer: Part IV.
Two of the most well-known coaches in college football, Saban and Meyer have a combined five national championships. They also happen to be coaching two of the best programs in the country this season.
Looking to move to 2-2 against Saban, Meyer pointed out what is different about the Crimson Tide this year, via Cecil Hurt of The Tuscaloosa News:
Ranking fourth in the country in points allowed (16.6) and 17th in points scored (37.1) per game, the Tide are rolling heading into the showdown.
But they face a potent Buckeyes rushing attack that features Ezekiel Elliott and Cardale Jones. Elliott crushed Wisconsin his last time out for 220 rushing yards and two touchdowns in the Big Ten Championship Game.
The sophomore spoke about having to face that stingy 'Bama defense, via OSU's official account:
Needless to say, both games feature some of the best athletes from around the country looking to accomplish one thing—reaching the College Football Playoff National Championship. New Year's Day will mark one of the biggest days in the history of the sport, but the ultimate goal is to play in the final game of the season.
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