College Football Playoff Predictions, Odds: Picks Ohio State-Oregon, Georgia-Notre Dame in Quarterfinals

The first round of the College football The play-off was a flop. It doesn't matter if you think they fielded the wrong teams, or if you blame the format of the tournament and the way it's laid out, there's no doubt that the first four matches all stunk.

When the most dramatic moment of the four games was Clemson making it a one-score game for 55 seconds in the fourth quarter of the loss to Texas, you know it was a tough watch.

Although it was a disappointment, let's look on the bright side. Odds are the quarter-finals couldn't be worse. According to the points spread, we're in for a feast-or-famine of sorts. We have two games with spreads within three points and two with spreads in double figures. And while we can't guarantee excitement across the board, we can happily entertain ourselves with bets on each game.

Boise State as underdog in the Fiesta Bowl? What can go wrong? Seriously, there is some irony in the fact that Boise has been a giant killer in the Fiesta Bowl and is always 3-0 in the game, but it is taking on a Penn State team that is 7-0 in the game. No program has won this game more times than Penn State, and I'm pretty confident the Nittany Lions will improve to 8-0 after this.

Ashton Jeanty is one of the best players in the country and he is not a byproduct of Boise State's scheme. In this game, however, he faces a Penn State defense that is one of the best defenses in the country against the run and one of the few that can slow him down and force Boise State to move the ball in other ways. If the Nittany Lions put eight guys in the box and challenge Maddux Madsen and Broncos receivers to beat them, are you confident they can do it? Not me. On the other side of the ball, I don't have much confidence in Boise State's defense getting as many stops as they need to win this game. The pick: Penn State -10.5 (-115)

Many intelligent people are pointing to this game as the one most likely to be a blowout, and since the spread is two touchdowns, this makes sense. However, I believe that given the extra time to prepare, Arizona State can come up with some things offensively to find some success against an excellent Texas defense. I can see the Sun Devils scoring close to 30 points in this game as easily as I can see them getting a shutout.

But no matter how things play out on that side of the ball, I don't have much faith in the Sun Devils' defense to get stops. They don't put pressure on opposing quarterbacks, and given how good Texas' offensive line is, I think we'll see Quinn Ewers in the pocket as long as he has to wait for his receivers to get open against a secondary that hasn't . It wasn't excellent.

And while Texas' offense struggled in the red zone over the last half of the season, Arizona State's red zone defense was poor. The Devils rank No. 101 nationally in points allowed per possession in the red zone. The Longhorns were able to run all over Clemson last week and should be able to throw it all over Arizona State this week. The Pick: Texas Team Total over 32.5 (-114)

I don't think this game will look very different from the first! We scored 63 points in that case, and I won't be shocked if we see even more points this time. Oregon has been the most consistent team in the country this year and is very worthy of its record and No. 1 ranking, but its defense has struggled at times. The Ducks have played three games against teams still in the field (Boise State, Ohio State, Penn State) and allowed at least 31 points in all three of those games. I expect Ohio State to do this again in the rematch, especially now that it's at a neutral site instead of Autzen Stadium.

At the same time, Oregon's offensive line was great in the first meeting and can slow down an Ohio State pass rush that struggles against better offensive lines, so I don't think the Ducks offense will look much different either. In fact, QB Dillon Gabriel has only gotten more comfortable as the season has gone on, and this unit has improved along the way. This game is shaping up to be a bit of the classic that the regular season meeting was, and it could yield a higher score. The choice: over 55 (-110)

Contrary to popular belief, I'm not an idiot. I know that this Georgia team, even without Carson Beck, is capable of beating Notre Dame. I know that when this defense is at its best, it can overwhelm any offense. However, I also understand that Notre Dame is pretty good. While I'll never understand how this Irish team lost at home to Northern Illinois, that loss feels like ages ago, and this is a team capable of scoring.

And I'm surprised the Irish are underdogs. Again, I know Georgia can be great, but these odds put a lot more faith in Gunner Stockton than I'm willing to put without proof of concept. It feels like too much faith is being placed in the fact that Georgia beat Texas in the SEC Championship Game and a convenient amnesia about that Stockton turnover that should have been returned for a touchdown if Texas' Jahdae Barron knew how to track his blockers . I expect a low-scoring game where any mistakes will prove costly, and I trust Notre Dame's Riley Leonard won't make them more often than Stockton. The Choice: Notre Dame +2 (-110)

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