Cole Topham

Both teams in the National Championship suffered an embarrassing loss to unranked teams.

Ohio State lost 13-10 to Michigan
Notre Dame lost 16-14 to NIU

They were better because of it. Playing at their floor forced them to unlock a higher ceiling.

Criticize the expanded playoff all you want…

The National Championship will be played between two teams who would not have been considered under the old format.

It is not perfect. But including more teams was the right move

Jeremiah Smith was held to one catch for 3 yards.

Texas still lost by two scores.

Ohio State can beat you any way they want.

I post easy-to-read threads on college football X’s and O’s.

Follow me @crtopham.bsky.social for more!

The Buckeyes earned a rematch with Oregon with this dominating performance.

What they put on tape will give Dan Lanning plenty to think about ahead of the Rose Bowl.

Henderson wasn’t done making Tennessee look silly on these GH Counter runs, either.

The front actually does a good job of crashing the gap to stonewall Henderson.

But the down blocks eventually find leverage, Henderson bounces the run, and he scoots by the safety once again.

Smith uses a hop-split release, a favorite of Davante Adams.

Then a two-handed swipe to avoid press contact.

And then he is free to get vertical, and Howard’s ball finds the bucket.

Now watch how Kelly merges these two plays together on Smith’s second touchdown.

It’s a GH Counter RPO with Smith running the fade vs press this time.

Howard sees that matchup pre-snap and knows he wants to attack it, so he quickly snaps the ball and uncorks another deep throw.

The two defenders who end up with a realistic shot at tackling Henderson are the boundary safety and cornerback.

And Henderson outran both of them.

In the run game, Ohio State found answers in their gap scheme.

Treveyon Henderson’s first TD was spurred by same-side GH Counter, where the guard and tight end pull to create a gap.

It also created favorable angles for the non-pulling linemen, opening up a crease for Henderson

The broadcast footage cuts off Smith’s route, but he swiftly closes the cushion and separates from the 1v1 coverage to get underneath Howard’s arcing bomb.

Ohio State dialed up this three-route concept on 1st & 10 to create the matchup they wanted:

Quinshon Judkins: Flat route to draw the nickel

Emeka Egbuka: Post route to occupy the safety

Jeremiah Smith: Outside fade vs cornerback

Tennessee's goal (according to its DC) was to find a “winning combination” between its front and backend to handle Ohio State’s explosive roster.

A piece of that was testing Howard to hit long throws they didn’t think he could make.

He proved them wrong.

Chip Kelly’s opening script caught the Vols off-guard.

Will Howard came out firing on Ohio State's first drive.

The Buckeyes advanced to their opponent's 37-yard line in four plays.

Ohio State maintained a punishing presence on the ground but cranked up its aggressive pass game against Tennessee.

Here’s how that plan resulted in the biggest blowout of the CFB Playoff weekend 🧵

My CFB Playoff Quarterfinal Predictions

Texas over Arizona State
Oregon over Ohio State
Penn State over Boise St
Notre Dame over Georgia

Final, CFP 1st Round

#8 Ohio State 42 | 12.19 total EPA
#9 Tennessee 17 | -8.91 total EPA

Top Performer: Will Howard (OSU): 17.06 total EPA

gameonpaper.com/cfb/game/401...

Tennessee, Indiana and SMU were all correct choices to make the playoff.

Ohio State, Notre Dame and Penn State are all just really good teams.

The SEC wanted a team with three losses in the CFB Playoff.

And one of its teams with two losses just got TCU’d by Ohio State.

Let that sink in.

Bucket ball from Will Howard to Jeremiah Smith. Absolutely perfect placement.

Notre Dame is the most physical team in the country.

Don’t let that sequence at the end of the game distract you from how hard the Irish play. This playoff is wide open. Anybody who thinks Georgia will curbstomp them with a backup QB is foolish.

Notre Dame’s defensive line controlled the game. It was a nightmare back there for Kurtis Rourke. Zero time to assess the sub-optimal throwing windows when they were there. And the completions he did have tonight were swarmed immediately.

I post easy-to-read threads on college football X’s and O’s.

Follow me @crtopham.bsky.social for more!

So don’t count SMU out against Penn State.

The Mustangs are an exciting, talented team.

And they are a worthy opponent in this CFB Playoff showdown.

This results in a longer throw menu for opposing quarterbacks on 2nd and 3rd down.

The SMU defense gives Jennings and the offense every opportunity to get back out on the field…

And we already know how much of a hassle he is to get off it.

The Mustangs don’t just stop the run — they quench it.

This front 7 is relentless at racking up tackles behind the line of scrimmage.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in the offensive side of the ball...

But SMU is equally impressive on defense.

They only allow 2.8 yards per carry - 3rd in FBS!

But what makes Jennings special is his knack for escaping muddy pockets and extending plays.

It’s one of the reasons why the Mustangs are a Top 25 team on 3rd down.

Jennings finds ways to keep the offense on the field.

This appears to be another Draw play for Jennings, and Clemson is ready for it.

But Smith goes uncovered out of the backfield on the Wheel route, and it's an easy touchdown.

Lashlee makes it a point to threaten Jennings’ athleticism as often as he can.

Plays like this QB Draw force the defense to respect his impact as a runner.

When that happens, SMU creates designs that intentionally prey on that reaction.