The 2025-2026 College Football Playoff kicks off tonight with the first of the four first-round matchups, with three more games on Saturday.
The ninth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide will be going on the road to take on the eighth-seeded Oklahoma Sooners tonight. This should be one of the best first-round matchups due to how good both teams’ defenses are.
Oklahoma leads the nation in sacks. Along with that, they are top 10 in the nation in total defense and scoring defense.
A couple of key players for the Sooners are linebacker Kip Lewis, who has been a pivotal part of their incredible defense. Transfer quarterback John Mateer also has the talent and ability to take this team deep into the playoff.
On the other hand, Alabama is loaded with four- and five-star talents. Although it looks like they have been declining offensively, Head Coach Kalen DeBoar’s offense cannot be counted out.
Alabama has arguably a top three wide receiver room in the country, headlined by Germie Bernard and young superstar Ryan Williams, who has some of the most big play potential in the country.
Although Oklahoma won the regular season matchup, that has no meaning at all due to the success the Crimson Tide has had in the playoffs over the years.
There are three games on Saturday, headlined by the 10th-seeded Miami Hurricanes heading to Aggieland to take on the seventh-seeded Texas A&M Aggies.
This game will be won by whoever plays better up front. Each team’s offensive and defensive lines will decide the game.
Miami has an absolute gamewrecker in defensive lineman Rueben Bain Jr. His ability to get to the quarterback is second to none this year in all of college football.
But when he gets in the backfield, he will have trouble containing Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed, who is one of the best dual threats in the country. His ability to take off and run adds another level to the Aggies’ already potent offense.
Texas A&M should be able to hold off the Hurricanes due to their offense and their home atmosphere at Kyle Field, which is one of the best in the country.
The other two first-round games will not be great games. Both James Madison and Tulane are heavy underdogs in their games against Oregon and Ole Miss.
Ole Miss dominated Tulane in the regular season 45-10, a game in which Division 2 transfer quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 307 yards and two touchdowns. On the opposing side, Tulane quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who is a transfer from BYU, was only able to complete five passes for 56 yards.
This will be a different Ole Miss team, as former Head Coach Lane Kiffin left for LSU three weeks before the playoff. Ole Miss scrambled to find a new head coach before eventually landing on Pete Golding. Regardless of the head coach, Ole Miss should be able to breeze by Tulane and start looking forward to a rematch vs. Georgia in the quarterfinals.
The last game of the first round will be James Madison traveling to Eugene to take on the Oregon Ducks in what should not be a close game at all. Oregon has gotten hot at the right time, winning their last three games by double digits against solid Big 10 opponents, including a dominating 42-27 win against USC.
The Ducks’ balanced offense, led by quarterback Dante Moore, should be enough to beat the Dukes by a good margin. If James Madison were to somehow shut down the Ducks’ passing attack, Oregon could turn to their two running backs, who average more than six yards a carry.
Similar to Ole Miss, Oregon should have no problem with James Madison and could start looking forward to their quarterfinal matchup against Texas Tech.
