College Football Playoff Bracket Still Has Florida-Oklahoma Final

The past few years I have been using my own college football playoff system. I have tweaked it to stay consistent with the BCS.

It used to consist of eight teams, but since the BCS moved up to 10 teams, I have moved the playoff system up to 10 as well.

Each of the six BCS conference champions make the playoffs with four at-large teams.
Seeds will be determined based on BCS ranking.

Here is what you would get:

Opening round: No. 10 Virginia Tech @ No. 7 Texas Tech:

The Hokies had a down season, but still managed to win the lowly ACC.

The Red Raiders have had one of their best seasons and were one of the tri Big 12 South champions.

Virginia Tech’s defense wouldn’t know what hit them when finally playing against a top offense.

Taylor’s Take- Texas Tech 35-17

No. 9 Cincinnati @ No. 8 Penn State:

This game would likely be closer that everyone would think.

The Bearcats will hang around thanks to their smart play on offense and solid defense, but the athletes at Penn State would make the difference in the end.

Taylor’s Take- Penn State 27-21

The second round is set up at four bowl sites, higher seeds play closer to home.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 8 PSU @ Cotton Bowl:

In a classic matchup of top teams from the 1980s, this version would be quite different with the spread offenses.

The Oklahoma offense has been unstoppable, while PSU has had some struggles towards the end of the season.

Taylor’s Take- OU 38-24

No. 4 Alabama vs. No. 5 USC @ Sugar Bowl:

This has the makings of a great defensive game featuring two of the country’s best. The big question would be which offense would get on track.

A big advantage for USC is that it hasn’t gotten beat up by SEC teams all year. In the end they will prevail.

Taylor’s Take- USC 23-20

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 7 Texas Tech @ Capital One Bowl:

The Gators will fuel off the energy from playing close to home, while Tech realizes its harder to score against all that speed.

The Red Raiders score enough to keep them in the game, but their turnovers will cost them the game in the end.

Taylor’s Take- Florida 37-27

No. 3 Texas vs. No. 6 Utah @ Holiday Bowl:

Chances are this game won’t be competitive after halftime.

Utah’s solid defense might be able to get some stops early, but there is far too much firepower on the other side of the field and not enough on its own. Remember, this team barely bit Michigan. How good can they be?

Taylor’s Take- Texas 31-13

This sets up another one of those all-world semifinal match-ups.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 USC @ Fiesta Bowl:

Because Oklahoma is the higher seed, it gets the Fiesta Bowl rather than the Rose Bowl, which is in USC’s backyard. However, the Sooners haven’t had much luck in the Fiesta Bowl the past two years.

The two teams are much more even than they were in 2004 when they met for the national title and the game will be much closer.

The third time will be the charm for the Sooners as USC just doesn’t have enough offense.

Taylor’s Take- OU 27-21

No. 2 Florida vs. No. 3 Texas @ Rose Bowl:

In what should be the championship game, we are treating to one heck of a semifinal game. Both teams have stud quarterbacks who are the key to their offenses, while both teams have a much better defense than a year ago.

You can throw out the defense when these two teams hook it up because the game will hit the 30s (before overtime). In the end, a healthy Percy Harvin is the difference.

Taylor’s Take- Florida 49 Texas 42, 2 OT

As much as I didn’t want it to be, the national championship will feature the same teams that are included now. However, the best two teams met in the semifinal.

Also, it would be much more exciting to see all of the other games as there is always a possibility of an upset. At least all of the deserving teams would have a chance to play for a championship.

No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 2 Florida @ Orange Bowl:

Well, since this is the actual championship game, you can find out the winner for yourself. However, that won't be as fun because then you can’t rip me for being wrong. I don’t see this game being a blowout. Both teams have too good of an offense for that to happen. The difference will likely come on special teams and in turnovers.

The Florida defense and special teams has put the offense in great shape throughout the year with big returns by Brandon James.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma has had a very shaky special teams unit, meaning the Gators will get a lot of short fields.

Taylor’s Take- Florida 37 Oklahoma 34