It’s the Pac-12 against the Big Ten in the biggest game on the year in college football. The first college playoff championship game will feature a Heisman Tro-phy-winning quarterback Marcus Mariota and a team that keeps proving that it is hard to predict a sporting contest.
Oregon will rely on the arm and legs of Mariota and a no-name defense that dominated a great Florida State team in the Rose Bowl. Oregon won the first semi-final playoff game on New Years’ Day while Ohio State upset Ala-bama to win the other semifinal game. Now Oregon and Ohio State will battle in the title game on Monday in Arlington, Texas. If Oregon plays like they did against Florida State they will be hard to beat.
“This team is unbelievable,” Oregon head coach Mark Hel-frich said after their 59-20 win over Florida State last week. “It was a total team effort. Our team played tough and smart football.”
Another team that came away with a bowl victory was UCLA when they squeezed by to beat Kansas State 40-35 in the Alamo Bowl on Jan. 2. The good news is that the Bruins won the game but the bad news is, that was star quarterback Brett Hundley’s last game.
He is turning pro which will leave UCLA with a large hole to fill on their offensive team. Quarterbacks that will try to fill that void are Jerry Neuheisel, Asiatii Woulard and incoming freshman Josh Rosen, the number one recruit in the nation from St. John Bosco. Ohio State is in search of its first national title since 2002.
The College Football Playoff system, which is a four-team tourna-ment, has now replaced the Bowl Championship Series. Oregon is a seven-point favorite but has been winning despite being on their once third-string quarterback
