College Football Championship 2016: Predictions for Top Playoff Matchups

The second annual College Football Playoff is just days away as the Top Four teams in the country battle for a chance at the national championship.

It's been 22 days since the Clemson Tigers, Alabama Crimson Tide and Michigan State Spartans have played, and 29 for the Oklahoma Sooners.

It's impossible to tell if the delay will affect the teams, but it may kill any momentum they had at the end of the regular season.

Now, the wait is almost over. Let's take a look at the schedule for the two semifinal matchups as well as predictions for which teams will be moving on to the national championship game:

Date	Time (ET)	Bowl	Matchup	Projected Winner
Dec. 31	4 p.m.	Orange Bowl	No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Oklahoma	Oklahoma
Dec. 31	8 p.m.	Cotton Bowl	No. 2 Alabama vs. No. 3 Michigan State	Alabama

Orange Bowl

If you like offense, grab some popcorn and head to the TV for the Orange Bowl. Oklahoma and Clemson combine to average 84.3 points per game. The Sooners hold the edge, averaging 45.6 points per contest, and have scored 52 points per game during a seven-game win streak.

However, the Tigers have Deshaun Watson under center after a season in which he finished third in Heisman Trophy voting. ESPN CollegeFootball put his season into perspective, comparing it to Tampa Bay Buccaneers rookie starting quarterback Jameis Winston, who won the 2013 Heisman Trophy with the Florida State Seminoles:

Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield has had a pretty good season himself. The former Texas Tech Red Raiders walk-on finished one spot behind Watson in Heisman voting after throwing for 3,389 yards, 35 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Both teams are going to score, so it could come down to which one has the ball last. Though it's unclear what effect the lengthy break may have, the Sooners get the edge. They are playing better on offense than nearly any team in the country right now, knocking off three ranked teams to end the season while allowing less than 21 points per game in 2015.

It will be a close one, but Mayfield and Oklahoma will ride their hot offense to a victory.

Prediction: Oklahoma wins 35-31.

Cotton Bowl

If the Orange Bowl appeals to high-scoring enthusiasts, old-school fans will have fun with this smashmouth matchup between Alabama and Michigan State.

Both teams ran the ball at least 125 more times than they passed it, and the Crimson Tide led the SEC in rushing with 2,707 yards. They gave the ball to their Heisman Trophy-winning running back Derrick Henry 90 times the past two games, resulting in 460 yards and two touchdowns. 

While the running games will be steady, the Spartans can actually throw the ball better than Alabama. Senior Jake Coker has tossed 17 touchdowns and eight interceptions during a solid but less-than-spectacular year for the Crimson Tide.

Michigan State's Connor Cook has been a one-man passing show on a team that has used a plethora of running backs. The senior has thrown for 2,921 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions.

Alabama is a 9.5-point favorite, per Odds Shark, but Michigan State is too good to not keep this game close. The Spartans are a one-point loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers away from finishing the season undefeated heading into the bowl game. Head coach Mark Dantonio brings a winning attitude to the forefront and has his team believing it can win with words like this, per the Cotton Bowl's official Twitter account:

Henry, though, who rushed for 100-plus yards in all but one of his SEC games, will set the pace for the game. Coker should be able to be just good enough to balance Henry's ground attack, and the Crimson Tide will head into the national championship game with a close victory.

Prediction: Alabama wins 24-20.