The end is in sight as college football has successfully navigated the coronavirus pandemic and reached bowl season - albeit with some hitches.
On Sunday, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee announced the annual four candidates who will compete for a spot in the CFP National Championship on New Year's Day, and ultimately for a national title on January 11th.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Dominant as always, Alabama ran through the ten-game SEC regular season schedule - capping off their campaign with a 52-46 win over Florida in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
The number one team for much of the season, the unbeaten 11-0 Tide came out with wins by margins less than 21 three times (a shootout with Ole Miss, Georgia, and the aforementioned contest with Florida), seemingly annihilating every competition.
'Bama's offense, coordinated by Steve Sarkisian, is led by two Heisman Trophy candidates. Quarterback Mac Jones (3,739 passing yards, 32 TD), who set a new mark for passing yards in an SEC title game with 418, and wide receiver DeVonta Smith (1,511 receiving yards, 18 total TD) who is the nation's top receiver.
Running back Najee Harris, the presumptive favorite for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back.
On defense, the team is led by three excellent corners; veterans Patrick Surtain II and Josh Jobe, and true freshman standout Malachi Moore (3 INT).
Clemson Tigers
Only twice in the last three seasons have the Tigers of Clemson University lost a contest - once in last season's National Championship against LSU, and this season to Notre Dame without the presumptive number-one pick in May's NFL draft Trevor Lawrence.
With their full cast of characters, Dabo Swinney's squad dominated the ACC finishing with an astronomical point differential of +301 and an average margin of victory of 30.8 points. Over the course of the season, the only Power 5 team that averaged more points per contest was Alabama, and only six schools put up more yards per game through the air than the Tigers - an incredible feat, considering that backup quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei started two games.
Clemson accomplished all this with one of the more stellar defenses in the entire United States. Of teams that played at least eight games, only four allowed fewer yards per game than Clemson - two of whom were Army and Marshall who play incredibly lesser opponents.
The Tigers also finished in the top ten in passing yards per game allowed and points allowed among Power 5 schools this season.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Perhaps no team had a more tumultuous season than Ohio State.
Projected as one of the leading candidates for this year's crown, the Buckeyes had to fight to even stage a season after the Big 10 initially declined to have a campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, once they got on the field, Ryan Day's unit solidified their slot as one of the better four teams in America, taking apart every foe that was able to oppose them - only struggling to get by now eleven-ranked Indiana in a 42-35 thrilling victory.
The university itself navigated the pandemic well but was nearly disqualified from contention in the Big 10 due to not staging enough games. But due to reputation and no cancellations on their part, the Buckeyes took apart Northwestern 22-10 to capture their fourth straight conference title.
Running the ball has been the name of the game for OSU, as the school leads the Power 5 in rushing yards per game with a 275.7 clip - courtesy of running backs Trey Sermon and Master Teague and dual threat signal caller Justin Fields who put together a prolific season both through the air and on the ground.
The Buckeyes were also one of just eight Power 5 teams to allow fewer than 100 rushing yards per game.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
One of the more hotly contested debates on the college football season is "just how good is Notre Dame?"
On the one hand, the Irish went unbeaten during the regular season after joining the ACC and being grafted into the league's conference-only schedule. On the other, it took double overtime to defeat a Clemson team that was without Trevor Lawrence, and then was curb stomped by the Tigers once number 16 was healthy.
Nevertheless, the numbers speak for themselves. ND surrendered only 18.6 points per game (eighth fewest among Power 5 schools) while scoring nearly double that, giving them an average margin of victory of just over eighteen points per win.
Individually, quarterback Ian Book turned in a nice season, hanging around in Heisman talks for much of the season and safety Kyle Hamilton (team-leading 56 tackles) is one of the best in the country at his position.
While the Irish are not definitively better than Texas A&M, who just missed the postseason, the team played in a tougher league this season and played every game on their schedule. Thus, deserving the nod over the Aggies.
The Semis
This year's playoff will kick off at 4:00 PM central time in Arlington, Texas when Alabama takes on Notre Dame in the relocated Rose Bowl.
It will be a matchup of strength vs. strength, in that the Tide run the ball as effectively as anyone in the nation when they want to and the Irish are one of the better teams against the rush (13th in the Power 5). Notre Dame's hopes of an upset will hinge on the team's ability to contain Mac Jones, and the prolific aerial attack of the Crimson Tide which could be getting back receiver Jaylen Waddle for the contest, a future first round pick.
The Irish have had issues against the pass, as two-thirds of the yards they have surrendered over the course of the year have been through the air. Notre Dame will also have to find ways to match 'Bama on the scoreboard as well. The Crimson Tide are first among Power 5 schools (second in the nation) in scoring (49.7) while the Irish are twenty-second at a 35.2 clip.
The second contest, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans (7:00 PM), will feature Clemson and Ohio State in a rematch of last season's Fiesta Bowl, which saw Clemson move on to face LSU in the national title game. This go-round, Trevor Lawrence won't have to worry about two amazing Ohio State corners, as both Jeff Okuda and Damon Arnette were first round selections in the 2020 NFL draft back in April.
He will have to worry about the nation's top cornerback prospect, Shaun Wade roaming the Ohio State defensive backfield and possibly blanketing his top target, whether that is Amari Rodgers or E.J. Williams.
The extremely entertaining storyline will be Clemson running back Travis Etienne against the stout front of the Ohio State defense that was second-best in the Big 10 at stopping the run. Conversely, Clemson's secondary will be challenged by the array of receiving weapons that Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields works with that includes veterans Garrett Wilson and Chris Olave.
Predictions
Notre Dame should hang around for a bit with Alabama before the Tide annihilate the Irish in the second half.
The game of the day will be between Clemson and Ohio State for a second consecutive season, in which the Tigers will get the better of the Buckeyes in Lawrence's best game of his season.
This would set up a 3rd meeting between Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney in the CFP National Championship, in which Saban will take home his 6th title and take a 2-1 advantage over Swinney in title matches.
