This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/jdprager on 2024-01-02 18:12:08.
The CFP quickly gained a justified reputation for some stinker semifinal games, as most playoffs included two blowouts en route to the Natty. From 2014-2021, only 3 of the 16 semifinal games were decided by a single score:
- 2015 Sugar Bowl: Ohio State 42, Alabama 35
- 2018 Rose Bowl: Georgia 54, Oklahoma 48 (OT)
- 2019 Fiesta Bowl: Clemson 29, Ohio State 23
In fact, absolute blowouts were far more common than close games, as there were 4 seasons in which both semifinal games were decided by 3 possessions or more (2015, 2016, 2020, 2021)
But the twilight of the 4 team playoff era blessed us with some banger games, with the largest winning margin being Michigan’s 7 point OT win against Alabama last night. The other games finished with 6 point, 6 point, and 1 point margins of victory for an average winning margin of 5 points. The average winning margin of the 16 previous semifinal games was just over 21 points
To make this even more impressive, all but one of the 2022 and 2023 semifinals were in doubt until the very last play. Michigan’s loss to TCU in the 2022 Fiesta Bowl was the only game of the four to end on a kneeldown. The other three games all ended with the losing team failing to convert a game-tying/go-ahead score as time expired. Prior to 2022 only the 2018 Rose Bowl was decided on the last play, with Sony Michel’s walkoff TD in overtime(*)
*Edit: actually, this last bit isn’t true. The 2015 Sugar Bowl also was decided on the last play, as Blake Sims was intercepted on a 42 yard Hail Mary to tie the game as time expired
For anyone curious, 3 of 9 CFP championship games so far had a final margin of a single score (all in the first 4 years of the playoff), and the average winning margin of the Natty is 20 points The first 8 games before Georgia’s 58 point blowout of TCU had an average margin of 15.3