On Jan. 1, Oregon will meet Florida State and Alabama will play Ohio State in the national semifinals of the inaugural College Football Playoff. On Jan. 12, the winners will face off at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to decide the national championship. All eyes will be on these four teams as they kick off a new era in the Football Bowl Subdivision. Elsewhere, however, 72 teams will play in postseason games outside the championship picture. The games began Saturday and continue through the GoDaddy Bowl on Jan. 4. There are story lines to watch even in games without a championship impact. Here are some to monitor even as the Ducks, Seminoles, Crimson Tide and Buckeyes dominate the conversation: Gordon makes run at Sanders Wisconsin running back Melvin Gordon cracked the 2,000-yard mark during the regular season, helping the Badgers reach the Big Ten Conference title game while earning an invitation to Manhattan as a Heisman Trophy finalist. After running for 76 yards on 26 carries against Ohio State, Gordon will enter the Outback Bowl against Auburn with another marker in sight: Barry Sanders’ season record for rushing yards. Gordon has 2,336 rushing yards this season, a school and Big Ten record, and needs another 292 yards to tie the 2,628 mark set by Sanders during his Heisman-winning season in 1988…
Continue Reading: Bowl story lines beyond the playoff teams
