College football has been turned upside down, but these final four are a collection of the sport's major programs

In the first round of the College Football Playoff, the 5-8 seeded teams all won.

In the second round they all won again.

The moral of this story: Who knows, maybe something isn't quite right if one of the top four teams, all of whom got the benefit of a first-round bye, doesn't advance to the final four of college football.

The semifinals have been announced: next Thursday in the Orange Bowl it will be No. 6 Penn State versus No. 7 Notre Dame. Then, Friday in the Cotton Bowl, it will be No. 5 Texas versus No. 8 Ohio State.

Fittingly enough given the way the second round played out, it's the team with the worst seed, the Buckeyes, who are now the favorites and fairly overwhelmingly listed at 11-10 to win it all via the BetMGM Sportsbook .

These matchups ensure that a team with a long history and a big name will carry the championship trophy when the first 12-team playoff concludes on January 20 in Atlanta.

Additionally, the matchup between Penn State and Notre Dame guarantees that either James Franklin or Marcus Freeman will have the opportunity to become the first black coach to win the title at the highest level of college football.

One thing this expanded tournament can still use is a well-played, truly great football match. Aside from Texas' two overtime wins over Arizona State on Wednesday, each of these playoff games has been a double-digit snoozefest.

A quick look at the four contenders.

No. 5 Texas (13-2)

The Story: The Longhorns are 0-2 against Georgia and no longer have to worry about the Dawgs. They are 13-0 against the rest of the country.

The player: Receiver Matthew Golden had seven catches for 149 yards, a touchdown and a key two-point conversion in the second overtime in the win over Arizona State to erase a lot of questionable stuff from his quarterback, Quinn Ewers.

Money matters: the On3 NIL tracker Arch Manning, cousin of Peyton and Eli, leads the country with an income of $6.6 million. Not bad for a backup quarterback, though Manning stepped in ably, starting two games in place of the injured Ewers in September to lead the Longhorns to victories.

Historys Mysteries: The program with the third-most bowl appearances hasn't won a national title since 2005. Before that it was 1981.

He said it: We weren't impressed with, Hey, this is where we are. This is where it was supposed to be. Coach Steve Sarkisian after the Arizona State victory.

No. 6 Penn State (13-2)

The story: After one loss to Oregon in the Big Ten title gameFranklin's record against teams in the AP Top 10 fell to 3-19. Oregon is no longer playing; The state of Ohio is, and Franklin Record against the Buckeyes is 1-10.

The Player: Tyler Warren may have played himself near the top of the NFL draft board this season. In the 31-14 win over Boise Statetwo of his six catches were for touchdowns.

Money Matters: Quarterback Drew Allar makes about $4 million. He has committed to returning for his senior season, though this strong playoff run could change the calculus.

History's Mysteries: The Nittany Lions and Notre Dame were the country's two most notable independent bands, so it made sense that they played every year from 1981 to 1992. But their only bowl meeting was a little-noticed 20-9 victory at Notre Dame in the 1976 Gator Bowl.

He said it: A lot of college coaches I saw this week were talking about, this is a four-game season. It's not. It's a one-game season. Franklin, after a first-round win over SMU, on the weekly nature of the first 12-team college playoffs.

No. 7 Notre Dame (13-1)

The story: When the Irish lost 16-14 at home to Northern Illinois on September 7, Notre Dame's odds of winning the national title increased to 100-1. Twelve wins later, including two by double figures in the playoffs, and they are 7-1.

The Player: Let's give this to a coach. Marty Biagi is in charge of the special teams unit that returned a kickoff for a touchdown, kicked three field goals and earned Georgia a key offside penalty in the fourth quarter by quickly taking out its entire punt team for the foul on fourth-and-1.

Money Matters: QB Riley Leonard would make around $1 million after moving from Duke to the South Bend.

Mysteries of history: Until Thursday, Notre Dame had not won a major bowl game since Jan. 1, 1994, when it defeated Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl. The program that brought us everyone from The Gipper to Joe Montana is aiming for its first title since 1988.

He said it: We've been here before. Now it's time to fix it. We have to solve the problem and get back to playing football the way we know how to play. We've played before, and we can, and we will. Freeman after the Sept. 7 loss to Northern Illinois.

No. 8 Ohio State (12-2)

The Story: After punctuating a fourth straight loss to Michigan by standing on the field and looking lost as the Wolverines sparked a melee by planting the team flag at the 50-yard line, there was good reason to to think coach Ryan Day could only keep his job by somehow competing to win a national title that seemed unlikely.

The player: WR Jeremiah Smith has 290 yards and four touchdowns in the playoffs. He made a pair of one-handed catches in an early-season win over Michigan State, earning the highly touted freshman the title of playmaker.

Money Matters: Smith is said to have about $3.7 million in NIL deals.

Mysteries of History: With Urban Meyer's coaching, Ohio State won the CFP's first playoff, the four-team affair that ended the 2014 season. Since then, the Buckeyes are 3-4 over five playoff appearances.

He said it: At the end of the day, we wanted to win a national championship, and the way we got here wasn't what we expected. Day after the win over Oregon.

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