College Football Playoff 2016-17: Odds, Schedule and Predictions for Semifinals

As we enter the final two weeks of December, two things become clear for college football fans. We're running full steam into bowl season, and the College Football Playoff is nearly upon us.

This year's playoff involves four quality teams, but it still includes some surprises. Three of the four—Ohio State, Clemson and Washington—lost games relatively late in the season. Yet, these losses eventually weren't deemed impactful enough to keep these teams out of the title hunt.

Only the Alabama Crimson Tide enter the playoff undefeated, and naturally ranked No. 1. Alabama is also widely considered the favorite to remain undefeated until the end. But the path certainly won't be easy.

Realistically, any of the four teams remaining in the title chase could come out on top. Their resumes suggest that. While any of the finalists might be a mild surprise, it certainly wouldn't be a shocker.

Today, we're going to break down the opening round of the playoff. We'll be examining the schedule and the latest odds—courtesy of OddsShark.com—and making our predictions for the semifinals.

2016-17 College Football Playoff Semifinals

Game	Teams	Date, Time (ET)	Line	Prediction
Peach Bowl	No. 1 Alabama vs. No. 4 Washington	Dec. 31, 3 p.m.	AL-14.5	AL
Fiesta Bowl	No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State	Dec. 31, 7 p.m.	OSU -3	OSU

Analysis

On paper, the matchup between Alabama and Washington looks like a good one. Both teams have an efficient and productive offense and both have a high-quality defense.

On average, Alabama scores 44.5 and allows 17.2 points per game. Washington scores, on average, 40.5 points per contest while allowing 11.8 points. The turnover differential appears to heavily favor Washington.

Washington's turnover margin is plus-25, Alabama's is plus-five.

The fact Washington has one loss while Alabama is undefeated may seem glaring, especially considering the Tide thumped USC early in the season. However, the USC team that bested Washington was (and is) playing like one of the best teams in the country when it handed the Huskies their loss.

Digging deeper, though, we'll find a couple of reasons to justify Alabama's place as a massive favorite. Strength of schedule is one, as the Tide's SEC schedule alone was daunting. Meanwhile, Washington faced few formidable foes.

USA Today ranks Alabama's strength of schedule at 14th in the country, and Washington's is ranked 40th. While this doesn't suggest the Huskies waltzed their way into the playoff, it was enough to prompt the discussion on whether or not they deserved to be there.

Ultimately, the decision to include Washington does feel right. However, it brings some perspective to their offensive and defensive rankings in relation to Alabama.

While both teams consistently dominated their competition during the regular season, the teams Alabama dominated were better.

If Alabama plays like the team has been late in the season, there's every reason to believe the Tide will come out on top and advance. Will Alabama be able to overcome such a large spread? Well, it's not a certainty.

Yet, we believe the experience of the Alabama team will come into play in this regard. Washington isn't used to being on such a large stage, and if things go wrong early, they could go wrong big. This is the second factor that tilts the proverbial table in Alabama's favor.

Our best guess is that the Huskies keep things close for much of the game, but Alabama finds a way to pull away late.

We have a similar feeling about the Fiesta Bowl, where the Ohio State Buckeyes are favorites over the Clemson Tigers. The fact that Ohio State has been in some tight games with some high-quality teams could easily play a part in this story.

Both teams are talented. Both are experienced in the playoff atmosphere. Some folks, though, will naturally point to Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson's experience as a deciding factor here. It very well could be, but it's not as if J.T. Barrett has no experience for the Buckeyes. Though he didn't play in that national title game a couple of years back, he was part of the championship team.

“You know, he was an incredible contributor to our playoff run two years ago, even when he wasn’t playing,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said, per Austin Ward of ESPN.com. “Obviously he had a great year as a redshirt freshman, but his leadership skills and his ability to help Cardale prepare for those big games was remarkable."

This season has brought about Barrett's time to shine, and he has leapt into that spotlight. He's completing 61.9 percent of his passes, has thrown for more than 2,400 yards and has 24 passing touchdowns and just five interceptions.

While Watson is the more headline-grabbing—and potentially more NFL-enticing—quarterback, it would be silly to suggest that Barrett is unable to keep pace.

This brings us back to Ohio State's defense—ranked 18th in the nation—and proven ability to close out tough contests like the overtime win against Michigan.

Our guess is that, no matter what Clemson is able to do for three-plus quarters, the Buckeyes find a way to pull out the win late and set up a tremendous national championship game.