Crowning a champ in our 64-team college football tournament
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Chris Low, ESPN
- Senior Citizen WriterMar 20, 2024, 07:25 AM ET Close College football
- reporter Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Graduate of the University of Tennessee
Invite to the super conference variation of ESPN’s 2024 mock NCAA football tournament.Of the teams making it to the Sweet 16, 11 are in either the Big Ten or SEC.All 4 No. 1 seeds are still alive, and
the most affordable remaining seed is No. 5 Louisville. In this brand-new age of college football, numerous transfer players have actually already made substantial contributions, and 3 brand-new coaches– Alabama’s Kalen DeBoer, Arizona’s Brent Brennan and Michigan’s Sherrone Moore– have their groups in the Sweet 16. To wrap up, the original seeds were based to some degree on ESPN’s latest SP+ forecasts entering the 2024 season, not that seeds really mean much at this point.Let’s finish football’s variation of the 64-team tournament, where we didn’t require an unlimited procession of conferences with commissioners and other administrators to identify the format. South Regional
Running back RoderickRobinson supplies an effective presence out of Georgia’s backfield. John Adams/Icon Sportswire Semifinals(1 )Georgia 35,(4)Utah 14
: Georgia keeps losing terrific protective players to the NFL, however other terrific players keep emerging from those shadows. C.J. Allen and Jalon Walker are next in line to be the sort of compelling linebackers the Dawgs have actually featured in the last few years. They integrate for 5 takes on for loss and two forced fumbles against the Utes, and Georgia never tracks.(2 )Notre Dame 34,(3)Missouri 33: It’s backward and forward in between two groups that have revealed their resiliency all season. Cornerback Benjamin Morrison gives Notre Dame the lead heading into the fourth quarter with a 66-yard interception return for a goal. Missouri responses with a Brady Cook 1-yard touchdown plunge a few minutes later on, however Mitch Jeter, a grad transfer from South Carolina, boots a 49-yard field goal on the game’s last play to win it in exhilarating fashion for the Irish.Regional final (1)Georgia 30, (2)Notre Dame 27: Notre Dame plays its finest game of the tournament, and Riley Leonard has the sort of
success against
Georgia’s secondary that couple of quarterbacks have actually experienced. The Irish take a touchdown lead into the fourth quarter, but that’s when Glenn Schumann’s defense settles in and forces 3 straight three-and-outs. The final one establishes a short field for Georgia, causing 240-pound Roderick Robinson running over protectors for a 12-yard goal run.How we got here First round:(1)Georgia over(16)UNLV,(2)Notre Dame over (15)Northwestern,(3) Missouri over( 14 )Appalachian State,(4)
Utah over(13 )BYU
, (12) Rutgers over (5) Miami, (6 )USC over (11) South Carolina, (10 )Liberty over (7) Auburn, (8) Virginia Tech over (9) Memphis 2nd round: (1) Georgia over (8) Virginia Tech, (2) Notre Dame over (10) Liberty
, (3) Missouri over (6) USC, (4) Utah over (12) Rutgers East Regional Can Tre Harris assist press the Rebels past Texas? Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images Semifinals Editor’s Picks 2 Associated (1)Texas 35,(4)Arizona 28: Brennan and Arizona continue to be
among the best stories in the tournament
. Noah Fifita beats Quinn Ewers for much of the game in a matchup of uber-talented quarterbacks. However the difference is that Texas is much better able to secure Ewers, particularly on the left side, where take on Kelvin Banks Jr. is a one-man shield and provides Ewers the time he needs to rally the Longhorns in the second half.(3)Ole Miss 38,(2 )Alabama 35: In 4 attempts against Nick Saban and Alabama, Lane Kiffin lost as
Ole Miss ‘coach. However Kiffin and the Rebels break through versus the Kalen DeBoer-coached Crimson Tide. It’s a close game the entire way. Jalen Milroe runs for two touchdowns and passes for another, and Alabama is on the edge of advancing to the Elite 8. Kiffin then decides to go for it on fourth-and-7 from his own 32, and Tre Harris catches a pass over the middle and turns it into a game-winning 68-yard touchdown. Later, Kiffin promises to give up social media.Regional final (1)Texas 41,(3) Ole Miss 38: It’s an instant classic with two coaches– Steve Sarkisian and Kiffin– who worked together at USC under Pete Carroll and understand each other very well. The first big play of the game comes on defense when Ole Miss defensive end Jared Ivey sacks Ewers, forcing a fumble that Princely Umanmielen returns 24 lawns for a touchdown. Ewers gets better to throw two second-half goal passes, however stands in there and takes a wicked shot to the ribs on the last one. In a Hollywood-type ending, Arch Manning comes off the bench in the last minutes to steer the Longhorns to the win over the university of his dad, grandpa and uncle.How we got here Preliminary:( 1)Texas over (16 )Fresno State, (2)Alabama over Illinois( 15), (3)Ole Miss over North Carolina (14 ),( 4)Arizona over UCLA(13),(5 )Clemson over (12 )Colorado, (11)West Virginia over(6
)Wisconsin,(10
)Nebraska over (7) N.C. State, (8) Iowa State over (9 )Washington Second round: (1) Texas over (8 )Iowa State,(2)Alabama over (10 )Nebraska, (3) Ole Miss over (11) West Virginia, (4) Arizona over (5) Clemson Midwest Regional Jack Sawyer helps provide Ohio State a championship-level defense. Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports Semifinals (1) Ohio State 42
,(5)Louisville 21
: First it was Expense O’Brien; then it was Chip Kelly. Ryan Day was looking for a proven playcaller to take over those duties, and he eventually turned to Kelly, his old coach at New Hampshire, when O’Brien left in February for the Boston College head training task. Kelly has no scarcity of vibrant playmakers to work with, and TreVeyon Henderson, Quinshon Judkins and Emeka Egbuka take turns scoring touchdowns in the Buckeyes’blowout win. (3)Oklahoma 24,(2)Michigan 20: All the talk entering this game centers around a prospective Ohio State-Michigan matchup for an Elite Eight berth. Brent Venables and Oklahoma have other concepts.
The Sooners’experience on defense programs and is a tip of how important it was to get back their 2 finest protectors, linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman, for the 2024 season. Each time the Wolverines appear to be creating a drive, Stutsman or Bowman is there to make a huge play.Regional last( 1) Ohio State 37,(3 )Oklahoma 24: The Sooners’deep and excellent run in the competition comes to an end. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold illustrates why he will be among the top returning quarterbacks in the nation in 2025 with his skill
and durability, but the
Buckeyes’defense keeps him on the run for much of the game. Furthermore, Oklahoma isn’t able to get its running game going, permitting Ohio State protective ends Jack Sawyer and JT Tuimoloau to tee off on Arnold.How we got here Preliminary:(1 )Ohio State over( 16) Miami( Ohio),( 2)Michigan over( 15) Arkansas, (3) Oklahoma over( 14)South Florida,( 4) LSU over (13 )Georgia Tech, (5)Louisville over(12 )Boise State,(6)Texas A&M over(11 )Minnesota,(10 )Maryland over(7 )Iowa,(8) Florida over TCU (9)2nd round: (1) Ohio State over Florida( 8),(2)
Michigan over (10) Maryland, (3) Oklahoma over (6) Texas A&M, (5) Louisville over (4) LSU West Regional Mike Norvell and the Seminoles want to put last season’s playoff disappointment behind them.
Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images Semifinals (1 )Oregon 42, (4) Tennessee 35: Oregon hired Nico Iamaleava hard and completed second to Tennessee for the
skilled quarterback from California. Iamaleava’s first season as the Vols’starter is a testimony to why he was so heavily recruited. However as good as he is in this game, he’s the second-best quarterback on the field as Dillon Gabriel throws for 390 backyards and 4 goals to lead the Ducks an action closer to playing for the national championship.(3) Florida State 28,(2 )Penn State 24: Think the Seminoles and everyone around that program are still fuming over being left out of the playoff last season? That’s why we have a 64-team field, and there’s no doubt Florida State is playing with a chip on its shoulder. There was a time back in January that some in FSU’s administration believed they might be losing Mike Norvell to Alabama. Those fears now seem like a fleeting memory as the Seminoles hold the Nittany Lions scoreless in the fourth quarter and hang on for the win.Regional last (3)Florida State 31,(1)Oregon 30: DJ Uiagalelei has actually traveled the college football map from Clemson to Oregon State and now Florida State. It’s a journey he and the Seminoles will always remember. A year ago, Uiagalelei’s goal pass represented Oregon State’s only score in a 31-7 loss to rival Oregon. However this time, with the stakes even higher, he tosses 3 goal passes, and FSU surges into the Final Four, which is where Seminoles fans all over will tell you they belonged a year ago.How we got here Preliminary: (1 )Oregon over James Madison (16 ),(2)Penn State over(15 )Wake Forest, (3 )Florida State over (14 )Washington State,(4) Tennessee over( 13) Duke,(12) UCF over(5) Kansas State, (6)Oklahoma State over(11 )Oregon State,( 7)Kansas over(10)Texas Tech,(9) Kentucky over(8 )SMU 2nd round: (1) Oregon over (9)Kentucky,(2) Penn State over( 7)Kansas,(3) Florida State over( 6)Oklahoma State,(4) Tennessee over( 12)UCF Last 4 Steve Sarkisian has Texas back on top of the college football world. Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY NETWORK (1) Texas 31, (1) Georgia 24: If you love offense vs. defense, it does not get any better than this semifinal affair with Steve Sarkisian matching wits with Kirby Smart. Ewers returns from his injury in the local final
win over Ole Miss and looks as excellent as brand-new. He and Georgia quarterback Carson Beck put on a passing exhibition with key third-down completions, deep balls and throws into tight windows