The College Football Playoff Semifinals will take place with the Fiesta Bowl on January eighth and the Peach Bowl on the ninth.
The Fiesta Bowl is between the tenth-seed Miami Hurricanes and the sixth-seeded Ole Miss Rebels. The Hurricanes are led by QB Carson Beck, RB Mark Fletcher Jr., and Malachi Toney, while EDGE’s Rueben Bain Jr. and Akheem Mesidor anchor a stifling defensive line. Miami had a 10-2 regular season record to sneak into the playoff as the final at-large bid and upset both seven-seed Texas A&M and two-seed and defending champions Ohio State to make the semis.
Meanwhile, the Ole Miss Rebels went 11-1 in the regular season, but their Head Coach Lane Kiffin left for LSU, so DC Pete Golding took over for the playoffs. The Rebels, who are led by QB Trinidad Chambliss and RB Kewan Lacy beat 11-seed Tulane, and in a wild game upset SEC champs Georgia with an amazing performance by Chambliss.
The Peach Bowl is between the fifth-ranked Oregon Ducks and one-seed Indiana Hoosiers. The Ducks were 11-1 this year, with their only loss being to Indiana. Projected top-three pick QB Dante Moore leads one of the best offenses in the country, helped by TE Kenyon Sadiq. Defensively, two-sport star LB Bryce Boettcher is the captain in addition to being drafted last year by the Houston Astros. To get to the semis, the Ducks had to beat 12-seed James Madison and shutout four-seed Texas Tech 23-0 in the quarterfinals.
The top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers are undefeated on the year as well as beating Ohio State to win the Big Ten Championship. Heisman winner QB Fernando Mendoza is the heartbeat of the team, alongside coach of the year Curt Cignetti, who will have his team ready for any game. The Hoosiers defeated ninth-ranked Alabama 38-3 in the Rose Bowl last week in dominant fashion. -Jack Dusek