LSU head coach Lane Kiffin had a sarcastic description when Oregon sprinted to a 27-3 lead over James Madison in the final game of the CFP’s opening round. He called it “riveting.” The joke landed because the football backed it up. The first weekend of the 12-team College Football Playoff delivered long stretches of games that felt decided before halftime, leaving fans wondering when the real playoff would start. That frustration is exactly what Colin Cowherd addressed on his podcast on December 21. 

“I just think the first round of the college football playoff through two years is kind of ugly,”  he said on the Colin Cowherd Podcast. “We always think about March Madness in the great first weekend. There’s a lot of bad games. There’s a lot of mid-after afternoon games where a 15 seed blast the number two seed by 38. It’s college. There’s a certain mythology about March Madness.”

Fans want March Madness energy in Week 1. History says that is rarely how elimination tournaments work.

Colin Cowherd leaned into the comparison that keeps coming up every December. March Madness is remembered for chaos, but its first weekend is full of forgettable blowouts. The mythology survives because the second weekend delivers. His belief is straightforward. Once the field narrows, the CFP will look like the playoff people imagined. The best eight teams, in his view, are still coming.

The results from this opening round support his argument, even if they frustrate the audience. Miami beat Texas A&M 10-3 in a game defined by punts and missed opportunities. Ole Miss overwhelmed Tulane 41-10 without suspense. Oregon ran past James Madison 51-34 after leading 34-6 at halftime. Alabama’s 34-24 comeback win over Oklahoma was the lone game that demanded attention deep into the fourth quarter. 

That pattern mirrors what happened in college basketball this March because the madness mostly stayed dormant. The top four seeds went 16-0 in the first round for the first time since 2017. The top two seeds won by an average of nearly 26 points. The upsets were familiar statistical outcomes, not shocks. There’s no buzzer-beater that will live forever. Even the closest thing to drama came in the First Four, hardly the stuff of legend.

Back on the football side, Alabama fell into a 17-0 hole, unable to tackle, protect, or move the ball. Then everything flipped. A dropped punt snap and a fourth-down breakdown. Zabien Brown’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown. Oklahoma’s final 10 possessions told the story. They had five punts, two missed field goals, one turnover, one touchdown, and a clock-management mess before halftime.

Elsewhere, the gaps were harder to ignore. Texas A&M managed 89 rushing yards on 35 carries against Miami and turned the ball over three times. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, advanced with control with QB Carson Beck throwing for 103 yards and the winning score. Ole Miss and Oregon offered less ambiguity. Tulane never threatened after the first quarter and the Rebels cruised to its second blowout of the Green Wave this season. The Ducks piled up 514 yards and averaged 7.7 yards per rush against JMU. These games were about sorting which brings the playoff to its real beginning.

Will the CFP quarterfinals 2025 deliver?

The 12-team field is set, the first round is complete, and the only metric that matters is advancement. The hope, as Colin Cowherd suggested, is simple and reasonable. Ohio State and Indiana enter the quarterfinals positioned as clear favorites in their respective matchups, but the playoff’s competitive center of gravity shifts quickly. The Orange Bowl and Sugar Bowl represent the first true stress tests of the expanded format. 

Oregon faces Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl, a collision between depth and momentum. The Red Raiders dominated the Big 12 with margin and muscle, while the Ducks arrive intact despite coaching turnover. Ole Miss meets Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, where Kirby Smart’s consistency collides with a Rebels team still proving it can thrive without Lane Kiffin. Ohio State draws Miami in the Cotton Bowl, a test of poise versus pedigree. Indiana, unbeaten and unapologetic, takes on Alabama in the Rose Bowl, where reputation meets resistance.

If talk holds, the early projection points toward a final four of Ohio State, Indiana, Oregon, and Georgia, a group that reflects both brand power and sustained performance rather than novelty.

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