Odds and ends about college football’s playoff and bowl schedule: You can’t argue with the teams the college football playoff committee picked for this year’s final four: Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State and Oklahoma. There is no TCU-type dispute this time around, though there is some irony in the fact that there isn’t a representative from, arguably, college football’s best conference — the Pac 12. I can’t wait until the inevitable day when the playoff goes to eight teams: Imagine adding Ohio State, Stanford, Notre Dame and either Iowa or North Carolina to this year’s field. I still feel like Ohio State is probably the best team the country, but I agree with most that the Buckeyes did not deserve to make the final four, based on apathetic showings much of this season and the loss to Michigan State in Columbus on Nov. 21. The playoff I feel like Oklahoma is the best of the final four, but I don’t trust the Sooners to win consecutive games on this stage. And I can’t get Clemson’s 40-6 win over the Sooners in last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl out of my mind, though I realize OU coach Bob Stoops has made a lot of changes in his staff since that game. So I pick Clemson to beat Oklahoma, 38-35, when those two hook up in the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31. In the other semifinal, I’m not sure why everybody is saying that Michigan State is such a great matchup for Alabama. I don’t trust Alabama quarterback Jacob Coker. …
Continue Reading: Bowls take expected course
