College Football Simulated Playoff: Oregon vs. Arkansas State

For the eighth consecutive season, Whatifsports.com is proud to present the ultimate college football playoff in a tournament we refer to as December Madness 2011.

Over the next three weeks, the top 16 college football teams (11 conference champions and five at-large programs based on BCS rating) will compete for the December Madness title.

Utilizing our award-winning college football simulation engine, we "play" each match-up 1,001 times.

View the December Madness playoff bracket and complete box score here: http://www.whatifsports.com/decmadness/

Coming off the school's first national championship appearance and returning most of their playmakers, Chip Kelly and his Ducks figured to be back in the BCS dialogue in 2011. A season-opening defeat to the LSU Tigers seemed to sidetrack this ambition, and suddenly a season with so much promise was on the brink of irrelevance.

Luckily for the Eugene faithful, Oregon was able to right the ship, winning nine straight contests, including an upset over the previously undefeated Stanford Cardinal. Not only did the Ducks command control of the Pac-12, but they had also reinserted themselves into the national title conversation.

This dream would not come to pass, as a week after their overthrow of Stanford, the USC Trojans came into Autzen Stadium and shocked the Ducks with a 38-35 win. Coach Kelly and company would still claim the conference championship, granting entrance into December Madness.

While the Oregon quartet of Darron Thomas, LaMichael James, Kenjon Barner and De'Anthony Thomas is renowned in the football world, the names Ryan Aplin, Derek Lawson, Dwayne Frampton and Josh Jarboe could easily be monikers used by the Witness Protection Program.

That's due to the latter four suiting up for the Red Wolves of Arkansas State. Hailing from Jonesboro, Ark., the Red Wolves hung tough with Illinois and Virginia Tech in early-September defeats and proceeded to win the last nine games on their slate.

Aplin is a duel threat for Arkansas State, passing for over 3,200 yards and amassing another 600 on foot. Rarely featured in the early going, Lawson has turned into a dependable back for the Red Wolves, while Frampton and Jarboe are Aplin's primary targets in the passing game.

Head coach Hugh Freeze may have departed to Ole Miss, but Arkansas State got a steal in former Auburn coordinator and offensive guru Gus Malzahn as their new leader.

Game recap

The genius of Malzahn may come to fruition next season, but his virtuoso was not enough for David to beat Goliath.

The Ducks hit the Red Wolves in the mouth in the first quarter with three touchdowns from Darron Thomas (two passing, one rushing), while the Oregon defense kept the adversarial offense at bay, surrendering just two field goals in the first half as the Ducks jumped out to a 35-6 lead.

Coach Kelly pumped the breaks in the second half, and the Red Wolves were able to find the end zone in the third quarter.

However, it was too little, too late for Arkansas State, as the Ducks move to the second round of the tournament with a 35-16 victory. Darron Thomas accounted for four touchdowns for the Ducks, while Anthony Wallace and Terrance Mitchell both collected interceptions in the winning effort.

Player of the game: Darron Thomas (204 passing yards, 3 TD)

Winning Percentage of 1,001 Simulations: Oregon 94.7%, Arkansas State 5.3%