College Football Playoffs, NFL showdowns

South Bend shook. State College swallowed sound. Austin glowed. Columbus raged. And when the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff kicked off in December 2024, the message was unmistakable: if you earned the right to host, you held a weapon no point spread could fully measure.

Notre Dame Stadium practically levitated as Jeremiyah Love ripped off a 98-yard touchdown run against Indiana. At Penn State, SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings burned a timeout because he literally couldn’t hear the play call — and the next snap turned into a pick-six as Beaver Stadium somehow got even louder. The four home teams were favored by an average of 8.8 points. They won by an average of 19.3.

Now the spotlight shifts again.

Alabama at Oklahoma: A reckoning

This is one of two rematches, and maybe the most consequential. Oklahoma’s 23-21 win in Tuscaloosa, Ala., back in November wasn’t pretty — it was tense, ugly, and survival-based — but it changed everything. Flip that result, and Alabama likely hosts a first-round game. Oklahoma probably doesn’t make the field.

Instead, the Crimson Tide arrives seeking redemption after a late-season fade, while the Sooners get to showcase one of the sport’s most underrated advantages: a home crowd that feeds off chaos and a defense built on speed, pressure, and opportunism.

Miami at Texas A&M: Pure volatility

Brilliance and droughts. Explosions and implosions. If you’re looking for the most unpredictable matchup of the first round, it’s this one — and it kicks off Saturday morning in College Station.

Miami and Texas A&M may be the CFP’s two most mercurial teams. Either could win by three touchdowns. Either could melt down spectacularly. Tell me right now the game goes to 16 overtimes, or that one side runs away with it by 24 points — and both outcomes feel equally believable.

Tulane at Ole Miss: History whispers

We’ve seen six rematches this season. In five of them, the team that lost the first meeting came back to win the second.

That’s the quiet backdrop in Oxford, Miss., where Ole Miss hosts a Tulane team that doesn’t care much for precedent — or perception. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium will do its part, but this game carries the subtle tension of inevitability versus disruption.

If history means anything, it favors the underdog. If crowd noise means anything, it favors the Rebels.

James Madison at Oregon: Offense takes the stage

There’s been hand-wringing about James Madison’s inclusion in the playoff — a reflexive response rooted in decades of gatekeeping. But after all the fighting mid-majors endured just to sniff one postseason slot, maybe having two is exactly the kind of discomfort the sport needs.

The Dukes would have been betting favorites against ACC champion Duke. This isn’t charity.

Still, Autzen Stadium is no place for philosophical debates. Oregon ranks fourth in SP+ and third in FPI, and the Ducks were going to be heavy favorites regardless of opponent. They’re fast, violent, and ruthlessly efficient — and they’ll expect to take care of business.

But JMU is better on paper than the Boise State team that outgained Penn State in last year’s quarterfinal. Overlook them, and this could get interesting fast.

Shifting gears: The NFL turns up the heat

While college football works to crown its contenders, the NFL barrels into one of its most consequential weekends of the season. Week 16 of the 2025 campaign brings division races to a boil and postseason stakes to every snap.

Saturday, December 20

Rams at Seahawks

A bruising NFC West showdown with the division lead on the line in Seattle. The Rams sit just ahead, but Seattle has made a habit of defending home turf — and this one could decide January futures.

Packers at Bears

The league’s oldest rivalry suddenly carries modern weight. Chicago leads the NFC North, but Green Bay lurks close behind. Every possession matters. Every mistake echoes.

Eagles at Commanders

Philadelphia has a chance to clinch the NFC East, but Washington would love nothing more than to delay the celebration. Late December division games rarely lack edge — this one won’t either.