College Football Playoff: 5 Teams we wished made the Semifinals

We all don’t get everything we want. Those are the sentiments of those left out of the College Football Playoff.

The College Football Playoff is nearly here. Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Washington all made the final four, but that doesn’t go without some sort of controversy. There are still a few teams fans wanted to make the final cut.

Clemson, Ohio State and Washington all finished the regular season with one loss. Alabama is the only undefeated team in the final four. Each team, except Alabama, lost at least one game to an unranked opponent. While there’s consistency among the semifinal in terms of record, some of their body of work certainly comes into question.

All in all, a good field of teams were chosen to play in this year’s College Football Playoff. However, Western Michigan was left out of the picture. They finished the season 13-0. Their strength of schedule came into play in a big way.

For others, early losses or late losses did damage to their respective playoff hopes. Despite winning the Heisman, quarterback Lamar Jackson and Louisville struggled to finish the season on the winning side of things. Penn State started 2-2 before winning nine straight games and coming away with a Big Ten title.

Each team has explosive players on their roster to compete in the College Football Playoff as well. Here are 5 teams we wished made the College Football Playoff.

Nov 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

5. Louisville Cardinals

The Louisville Cardinals are one team fans are sad to see outside of the College Football Playoff. After losing their first game of the season to Clemson 42-36 on October 1, the Cardinals won their next five games. However, they dropped their last two games of the season to finish at 9-3.

The Cardinals and Heisman-winning quarterback Lamar Jackson lost 36-10 on the road to the Houston Cougars on November 17. Houston sacked Jackson 11 times in the game and only allowed 10 points. They followed up that loss with another one to the Kentucky Wildcats the very next week 41-38. It was their first loss to Kentucky since 2010.

Louisville finished the regular season ranked 15th in the AP Poll and 13th in the College Football Playoff rankings. Instead of competing in the College Football Playoff, the Cardinals face the LSU Tigers in the Citrus Bowl on December 31st.

Jackson and Louisville will get a shot to show their offense is still as explosive as ever in the Citrus Bowl. We’ll see how they fare soon enough against a good LSU Tigers defense.

Dec 2, 2016; Detroit, MI, USA; Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

4. Western Michigan Broncos

The Western Michigan Broncos are one of only two teams in the FBS to finish the season with an undefeated record. The Broncos won all but two of their games by 14 points or more this season, showing off their dominance against a weaker group of teams in the MAC.

The Broncos offense scored 43.5 points per game in the regular season, which ranks ninth in the FBS. Their defense only allows 19.5 points per game, which ranks 16th in the FBS. They beat Northwestern to open the season 22-21 and haven’t looked back, winning the MAC Championship as well.

However, the Broncos rank 12th in the AP Poll and 15th in the College Football Playoff rankings. At 13-0, it’s a head scratcher to the casual fan at first. However, when you look at the Broncos’ strength of schedule, they rank just 118th out of 128 FBS teams.

Western Michigan will get a good test this bowl season, just not in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. They’ll face the Wisconsin Badgers on January 2nd in the Cotton Bowl. So far, they are 2-0 against the Big Ten with wins over Northwestern and Illinois this season.

On the bright side, wide receiver Corey Davis will get a chance to showcase what he can do against a tough Badgers’ defense. Davis led the MAC in receiving yards (1,427) and receiving touchdowns (18) this season.

Dec 3, 2016; Norman, OK, USA; Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

3. Oklahoma Sooners

The Oklahoma Sooners finished the season at 10-2 after starting the year at just 1-2. Two early losses in the season did damage to any playoff hopes the Sooners had.

The Sooners lost 33-23 in their season opener to the Houston Cougars. The Cougars had seven sacks in the game to get the Sooners season off to a losing start. The Sooners’ season got even rockier in Week 3 when Ohio State came to Norman and destroyed them 45-24.

Oklahoma bounced back to win the Big 12 Championship for the second straight season behind quarterback Baker Mayfield. However, his return for his senior season shows there’s still work to do.

The Sooners currently rank seventh in both the AP Poll and College Football Playoff. Instead of playing in the College Football Playoff Semifinal, they’ll face Auburn in the Sugar Bowl on January 2nd.

Mayfield and fellow wide receiver Dede Westbrook were among the five finalists for the Heisman Trophy this season. Mayfield was third in the Big 12 Conference in passing yards (3,669) and second in passing touchdowns (38). Westbrook led the conference in receiving yards (1,465) and receiving touchdowns (16). They’ve also got running backs Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine on the roster. The running back tandem has combined for over 2,000 rushing yards and 19 rushing touchdowns on the year.

The high-powered Oklahoma offense will be put to the test by the Auburn defense. We’ll see how they respond to an out-of-conference foe this season, but it would have been way more fun to see this group of playmakers going against a defense like Alabama’s.

Nov 26, 2016; Columbus, OH, USA; Mandatory Credit: Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

2. Michigan Wolverines

The Michigan Wolverines almost lived up to the preseason championship hype that followed them all season long. They won their first nine games, but things fizzled towards the end for them. The Wolverines rank sixth in the AP Poll and College Football Playoff rankings.

The Wolverines managed just 201 total yards of offense in a 14-13 loss on November 12 against the Iowa Hawkeyes. They had two turnovers in that game, and the loss wound up haunting them heading into the final CFP rankings.

In their double overtime loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on November 26, a pick-six by Ohio State safety Malik Hooker was the Buckeyes’ first points of the game. Quarterback Wilton Speight threw two touchdown passes and two interceptions in the game. The Wolverines finished with three turnovers in the loss.

Safety Jabrill Peppers and the Wolverines defense will get a chance to show fans what they can do against a good Seminoles offense. We could see Peppers a lot on both sides of the ball. The Heisman Trophy finalist scored three rushing touchdowns and a punt return touchdown this season for the Wolverines. He led the Big Ten in punt return yards this season with 310 punt return yards.

Peppers and Michigan will showcase what they can do in whats sure to be an exciting game. Unfortunately for Jim Harbaugh and company, they won’t get to show off that talented defense as one of the four College Football Playoff teams.

Dec 3, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

1. Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State Nittany Lions are probably the biggest snub of this season’s College Football Playoff Semifinal. After starting 2-2, the Nittany Lions won their last nine games of the season. They finished the year by upsetting Wisconsin 38-31 to win the Big Ten title after trailing 28-7 in the second quarter.

James Franklin’s team beat the Ohio State Buckeyes 24-21 after blocking a field goal attempt on October 22. To no avail, the Playoff Committee did not give Penn State any credit for their underdog victories. They went 11-2 in Franklin’s third season as head coach, and they played in the Big Ten Championship for the first time since the championship game was established in 2011.

Quarterback Trace McSorley threw for 3,360 passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns this season, leading the Big Ten in both categories. Teammate running back Saquon Barkley was second in the conference in rushing yards (1,302) and first in rushing touchdowns (16) this season.
They’ll look to finish the season with 10 wins in a row in their game against USC in the Rose Bowl on January 2.

While the Nittany Lions may not be playing in the College Football Playoff this year, they’ll be early favorites to make it into next season’s final four.