The Ducks are flying south for the winter. On Sunday morning, the College Football Playoff rankings were unveiled and the Oregon Ducks locked in the No. 2 seed. Oregon will face No. 3 Florida State on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The game will kick off at 2 p.m. PT.
1. Alabama 2. Oregon 3. Florida State 4. Ohio State pic.twitter.com/xUF0XgF1L8
— CFB Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) December 7, 2014
The matchup is a juicy one, featuring Heisman favorite Marcus Mariota and 2013 Heisman winner Jameis Winston. While their wins haven't always been pretty, the Seminoles have won 29 consecutive games dating back to 2012. Oregon will look to be the first team to defeat Florida State since Florida did so on November 24, 2012.
The Ducks and Seminoles have never faced each other before. Oregon opens as the early favorites over Florida State, marking the first time the Seminoles have been underdogs in quite a while.
#FSU opens as 8.5-point underdog… Last time a team was favored by that much over #FSU was @ UF in 2009. Had been favored in 51 straight gms.
— David Hale (@DavidHaleESPN) December 7, 2014
While people expected Florida State to earn a spot in the playoff (you can't ignore a 13-0 record, no matter how ugly some of the wins were), a matchup with No. 1 Alabama seemed more likely. Many expected No. 3 TCU to hold their spot after a dominant 55-3 win over Iowa State to wrap up the season. But you knew there would be some chaos involved in this.
TCU stumbled to No. 6 after the win, drawing criticism from many. Others said the lack of a Big 12 championship game hurt the chances of TCU and the first team out, No. 5 Baylor. The Bears jumped three spots after a 38-27 win over No. 9 Kansas State, a win many thought would be the key to jumping in and snagging the final spot.
However, the final spot went to Ohio State after the Buckeyes annihilated No. 13 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game. The Buckeyes jumped one spot from No. 5 to No. 4 after their 59-0 win over the Badgers.
The goal of the College Football Playoff is to select the best four teams in the nation. I believe they got the field right. Oregon, Alabama and Florida State were all locks heading into today. The question was about who was going to snag the final spot. When Ohio State absolutely dominated 13th ranked Wisconsin, they locked in their spot. Had there been a Big 12 title game, it is highly likely Baylor or TCU would have grabbed the final spot.
Oregon's matchup with Florida State is probably the best scenario the Ducks can be in. Out of the top four teams, Florida State is the most beatable. In their final three regular season games of the year, the Seminoles defeated Miami, Boston College and Florida. However, Florida State won those games by a combined total of 12 points. Yesterday, Florida State narrowly defeated Georgia Tech in the ACC championship game by just two points.
If the Ducks are able to snap Florida State's winning streak, they will advance to the national championship game at AT&T Stadium to face the winner of the Alabama vs. Ohio State. Either matchup would be huge for the Ducks and their fans. For years, Oregon fans have been foaming at the mouth for a crack at Alabama to prove they can hang with the SEC. On the other hand, a matchup against Ohio State would give Oregon the opportunity to avenge their loss to the Buckeyes in the 2010 Rose Bowl.
We now have 25 days to analyze every possible aspect of this matchup. Seriously, by the time January 1 hits, we'll have probably analyzed everything from the quarterback matchup to the quality of the beer selection at the Rose Bowl and everything in between.
In the meantime, if you need me, I'll be lurking around #FSUTwitter with my popcorn ready.
YES!!! We are going to score 50+ on Oregon! We really have a shot now!!!! #FSU
— Coach Cole (@draday51) December 7, 2014