Repeat! Repeat!

Nope...I haven't abandoned my "shoulda-woulda-coulda" NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs, where I run a 24-team field through Dave Koch Sports' Action! PC Football game.

Something special happened with the 2022 playoffs...and here goes:

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): Clemson (9) 31, Toledo (24) 7/Kansas State (16) 34, Oregon State (17) 15/Washington (13) 52, UCLA (20) 28/Alabama (12) 27, Cincinnati (21) 19/Florida State (19) 52, South Alabama (14) 30/Tennessee (11) 42, Coastal Carolina (22) 21/Oregon (18) 45, Utah (15) 30/Penn State (10) 41, Fresno State (23) 21

SECOND ROUND: Michigan (1) 38, Clemson 21/Kansas State 42, Troy (8) 21/Washington 49, USC (5) 35/Alabama 44, Ohio State (4) 41/Tulane (6) 48, Florida State 45/TCU (3) 50, Tennessee 35/Oregon 52, UTSA (7) 28/Georgia (2) 31, Penn State 24

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Michigan 34, Kansas State 32/Alabama 59, Washington 31/TCU 49, Tulane 27/Georgia 31, Oregon 14

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Michigan 44, Alabama 28/Georgia 44, TCU 33

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Michigan 55, Georgia 49 (2 OT)

PLAYOFF MVP: Michigan RB Blake Corum

HIGHLIGHTS: FIRST ROUND- Will Shipley's 174 rushing yards and two TDs help Tigers ground Rockets; Wildcats' 335 rushing yards and seven sacks doom Beavers; five TD tosses by Michael Penix Jr. (on 26-34-385 passing) let Huskies advance over Bruins; Jahmyr Gibbs' five-yard TD run with 4:53 to go in third quarter wins it for Crimson Tide; Seminoles outgain Jaguars, 626-329 (484 yards belong to FSU's Jordan Travis); Hendon Hooker runs for 199 yards and four TDs (and throws for 349 yards and two scores) to lift Volunteers; Bo Nix throws for three scores and runs for another three to awaken Ducks after they trail Utes, 10-0; Kaytron Allen's three ground scores lead Nittany Lions to victory.

SECOND ROUND- Wolverines boot Tigers out on J.J. McCarthy's two rush TDs and two air TDs; Wildcats score 35 unanswered points after spotting Sun Belt's Trojans a 7-0 lead; Huskies' two fourth-quarter TDs oust Pac-12's Trojans in a game where Penix and USC's Caleb Williams fire four air scores apiece; Will Reichard's 53-yard field goal with no time left in the fourth quarter sidelines Buckeyes; Valentino Ambrosio boots the game winner from 34 yards out with 56 ticks to go in the fourth to lift Green Wave; Max Duggan's five TD runs (25 trips for 154 yards- twice as many ground yards as Vols) team up with Horned Frogs' eight sacks of Hooker to send Vols home; Nix' three TD passes and three TD runs foil Roadrunners; Stetson Bennett (two TD passes) and Kenny McIntosh (two TD runs) key Bulldogs' second-half comeback.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND- Corum's third TD and Donovan Edwards' second one lift Wolverines...who thwart a K-State two-point conversion try that would've tied the game with 50 seconds to play in regulation; Tide's Bryce Young outdoes Penix by running for three scores and throwing for another three (and going 23-24-313 in the air department); Frogs' strong defense (seven sacks) and Duggan's strong running (two TDs by land and two by air) overcome Green Wave; Bennett's three air scores (and rush TD) shoot down Ducks.

SEMIFINAL ROUND- McCarthy throws for three TDs and runs for another to let Wolverines advance; Bennett accounts for six scores (throws for three and runs for three) to set up a rematch of the 2021 title test.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Bennett and McIntosh help Dawgs rack up a 35-21 lead with 12:28 left in the fourth...but McCarthy and Corum lead Wolverines' comeback. Makari Paige's 34-yard scoop-and-score gives Michigan its first lead...but Bennett's 28-yard TD toss to Ladd McConkey (and the PAT) force overtime. Corum's eight-yard TD run makes Michigan the first team to win back-to-back "shoulda-coulda-woulda" D-1-A playoffs since USC in 2003-04.

Can't wait to find out if the Wolverines pulled off a three-peat in 2023!

Scratching the five-year itch

The results are finally in for the 2021 edition of the "shoulda-coulda-woulda" NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs...and for the first time since 2016, the champion came from a league other than the Southeatern Conference. Well...without further ado, here goes:

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): San Diego State (9) 45, Northern Illinois (24) 38/BYU (16) 50, Oklahoma (17) 47 (3 OT)/Iowa (20) 28, Ohio State (13) 27/Appalachian State (21) 19, Houston (12) 10/Utah (19) 52, Mississippi (14) 31/Pittsburgh (11) 20, Oregon (22) 16/Michigan State (15) 31, Coastal Carolina (18) 30/Baylor (10) 24, Utah State (23) 17

SECOND ROUND: Cincinnati (1) 28, San Diego State 7/Oklahoma State (8) 35, BYU 14/Louisiana-Lafayette (5) 31, Iowa 17/Georgia (4) 45, Appalachian State 9/Utah 24, UTSA (6) 22/Alabama (3) 38, Pittsburgh 26/Michigan State 34, Notre Dame (7) 31/Michigan (2) 14, Baylor 7

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Cincinnati 24, Oklahoma State 0/Georgia 24, Louisiana-Lafayette 3/Alabama 35, Utah 3/Michigan 52, Michigan State 14

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Georgia 24, Cincinnati 7/Michigan 17, Alabama 10

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Michigan 27, Georgia 17

MVP: Michigan RB Blake Corum

The last time a team other than one from the SEC went all the way in these playoffs, Penn State took down Washington, 29-13...the second straight year a Big Ten team ruled the roost. What's more, the Wolverines picked up their second D-1-A playoff title. The first one came in 1983 (just the second year of these "shoulda-coulda-woulda" playoffs), when Michigan stopped Texas, 30-17.

Now to figure out which teams would've made the 2022 edition...

After a year's absence, it's back!

The coronavirus pandemic scuttled the 2020 edition...and so, with college football playing a more-unified schedule for 2021, here's what our "shoulda-woulda-coulda" Division 1-A football playoff field would've looked like (won-lost records don't include bowl games):

1. Cincinnati (13-0; AAC champ)/2. Michigan (12-1; Big Ten champ)/3. Alabama (12-1; SEC champ)/4. Georgia (12-1; SEC at-large)/5. Louisiana-Lafayette (12-1; Sun Belt champ)/6. UTSA (12-1; Conference USA champ)/7. Notre Dame (11-1; independent at-large)/8. Oklahoma State (11-2; Big 12 at-large)

9. San Diego State (11-2; Mountain West at-large)/10. Baylor (11-2; Big 12 champ)/11. Pittsburgh (11-2; ACC champ)/12. Houston (11-2; AAC at-large)/13. Ohio State (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/14. Mississippi (10-2; SEC at-large)/15. Michigan State (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/16. BYU (10-2; independent at-large)

17. Oklahoma (10-2; Big 12 at-large)/18. Coastal Carolina (10-2; Sun Belt at-large)/19. Utah (10-3; Pac-12 champ)/20. Iowa (10-3; Big Ten at-large)/21. Appalachian State (10-3; Sun Belt at-large)/22. Oregon (10-3; Pac-12 at-large)/23. Utah State (10-3; Mountain West champ)/24. Northern Illinois (9-4; MAC champ)

Two first-time playoff entries: Coastal Carolina and UTSA (the latter's the third different C-USA champ in as many seasons, not counting 2020). And Iowa's back in these playoffs for the first time since winning it all in 2015.

Only two ties needed breaking as far as seeding went: San Diego State and Baylor totaled 405 quality points each...but the Aztecs got the nod over the Bears because SDSU's Division 1-A opponents won 72 games in 2021, while Baylor's D-1-A foes got 63 victories. And Michigan State nosed out BYU after the Spartans' 1-A opponents earned 71 wins...two more W's than all the 1-A teams that faced the Cougars. (BYU and Michigan State amassed 360 quality points apiece.)

Well, I'm off to play these games, using Dave Koch Sports' Action! PC Football...and I'll post the results as soon as possible. (Can't wait!)

Finally..."Geaux Tigers!"

Two years after I announced I'd do it, I got it done at last. Had to take care of two years' worth of life issues...but I got this project done, once and for all.

I'm talking about the 2019 edition of the "shoulda/coulda/woulda" NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs.

Using Dave Koch Sports' Action! PC Football, here's how the 24-team field fared:

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): Oregon (9) 37, Miami (OH) (24) 14/Alabama (17) 38, Air Force (16) 14/Penn State (13) 38, Cincinnati (20) 17/Wisconsin (21) 24, Notre Dame (12) 10/Florida (19) 39, SMU (14) 14/Utah (11) 35, Florida Atlantic (22) 6/Minnesota (18) 38, Navy (15) 17/Louisiana-Lafayette (23) 32, Baylor (10) 13

SECOND ROUND: Ohio State (1) 47, Oregon 14/Alabama 31, Georgia (8) 20/Memphis (5) 52, Penn State 48/Wisconsin 24, Boise State (4) 10/Florida 31, Oklahoma (6) 13/Clemson (3) 28, Utah 7/Minnesota 38, Appalachian State (7) 10/Louisiana State (2) 52, Louisiana-Lafayette 31

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Ohio State 26, Alabama 14/Wisconsin 28, Memphis 17/Florida 30, Clemson 27 (1 OT)/Louisiana State 38, Minnesota 35

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Wisconsin 33, Ohio State 21/Louisiana State 31, Florida 28

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Louisiana State 41, Wisconsin 17

Playoff MVP: LSU quarterback Joe Burrow.

Strongest Division 1-A playoff field ever!

I guess it's more than fitting to write this on the eve of the so-called CFP championship game.

And I won't get to give you the results until at least this coming September, since the folks at Dave Koch Sports won't release the 2019 college football files for the company's Action! PC Football game until this coming September.

But the field for this season's "shoulda-coulda-woulda" NCAA Division 1-A football playoff is mind-blowing for this one reason:

All but one of the 24 teams won at least ten games apiece in 2019. 

And that's not counting the actual bowl games.

By contrast, last season's 1-A playoff field featured 18 ten-victory squads (not counting the bowl games).

Well, anyway, here's how the 2019 Division 1-A field shapes up:

1. Ohio State (13-0; Big Ten champ)/2. Louisiana State (13-0; SEC champ)/3. Clemson (13-0; ACC champ)/4. Boise State (12-1; Mountain West champ)/5. Memphis (12-1; AAC champ)/6. Oklahoma (12-1; Big 12 champ)/7. Appalachian State (12-1; Sun Belt champ)/8. Georgia (11-2; SEC at-large)

9. Oregon (11-2; Pac-12 champ)/10. Baylor (11-2; Big 12 at-large)/11. Utah (11-2; Pac-12 at-large)/12. Notre Dame (10-2; independent at-large)/13. Penn State (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/14. SMU (10-2; AAC at-large)/15. Navy (10-2; AAC at-large)/16. Air Force (10-2; Mountain West at-large)

17. Alabama (10-2; SEC at-large)/18. Minnesota (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/19. Florida (10-2; SEC at-large)/20. Cincinnati (10-3; AAC at-large)/21. Wisconsin (10-3; Big Ten at-large)/22. Florida Atlantic (10-3; C-USA champ)/23. Louisiana-Lafayette (10-3; Sun Belt at-large)/24. Miami (OH) (8-5; MAC champ)

Okay...how'd Ohio State slip in ahead of LSU?

All twelve of the Buckeyes' 2019 foes (Wisconsin and Ohio State tangled twice; the second time was at the Big Ten title game) were in Division 1-A; a club earns 50 quality points for defeating a winning D-1-A squad and 45 quality points after beating a Division 1-A team that had a .500 or worse campaign.

On the other hand, Louisiana State took on a Division 1-AA team, Northwestern State of the Southland Conference. The Tigers crushed the 3-9 Demons...and earned just 35 quality points for doing so. (Had the Demons enjoyed a winning season, LSU's victory would've meant 40 quality points.)

Now...about Boise State and Memphis skating ahead of the College Football Playoff committee's fourth choice, Oklahoma.

First of all, the MWC champion Broncos and AAC kingpin Tigers each saw their D-1-A opponents rack up 77 victories apiece...while all the Division 1-A teams that met the Sooners totaled 76 wins.

And so, the next tiebreaker kicked in: Conference records. 

That's how the team from Idaho won out. Boise State went 9-0 in Mountain West play...while Memphis turned in a American Athletic Conference mark of 8-1.

One interesting season, 2019.

Usually, nine wins would be enough to earn a 1-A squad an at-large berth. Instead, San Diego State, UAB, Central Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana Tech, and Virginia- to say nothing of Auburn, Iowa, and Michigan- couldn't get in this time. (And the Blazers, the Rainbow Warriors, and the Cavaliers would've gotten automatic bids if they'd won their conference championship games.)  

And one of those nine teams would've been crying had the field been expanded to 32 contingents.

One interesting season, 2019.

Can't wait to play these playoffs. 

And the champion is...

Well, I finally got around to it.

I wanted to get this done way back in January, but lots of circumstances (including my joining the creative community Stage 32) took precedence.

So did a change from using Lance Haffner Games' old 3-in-1 Football to Dave Koch Sports' Action! PC Football. (Don't worry...all the games I played using 3-in-1 still count.)

Folks, without further ado, this is how the coulda-shoulda-woulda 2018 NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs shook out (seeding in parentheses):

FIRST ROUND: Appalachian State (9) 20, Northern Illinois (24) 14; Boise State (16) 38, UAB (17) 21; Louisiana State (20) 38, Army (13) 28; Cincinnati (12) 26, Kentucky (21) 14; Utah State (14) 28, Penn State (19) 21; Syracuse (22) 42, Fresno State (11) 34; Washington (15) 28, Buffalo (18) 14; Washington State (10) 35, North Carolina State (23) 30

SECOND ROUND: Clemson (1) 44, Appalachian State 38; Michigan (8) 45, Boise State 10; Oklahoma (5) 42, Louisiana State 31; Cincinnati 24, Central Florida (4) 21; Ohio State (6) 21, Utah State 16; Notre Dame (3) 33, Syracuse 17; Washington 31, Georgia (7) 28; Alabama (2) 31, Washington State 17

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Michigan 28, Clemson 27; Oklahoma 38, Cincinnati 21; Ohio State 38, Notre Dame 17; Alabama 31, Washington 3

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Oklahoma 33, Michigan 7; Alabama 16, Ohio State 14

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Alabama 31, Oklahoma 24

This set of playoffs resulted in the second straight season with an SEC team in the driver's seat...and just the second shoulda-coulda-woulda title for the Crimson Tide (the first one took place in, surprisingly, 2014).

And it made an MVP out of the Tide's field general, Tua Tagovailoa.

Well, that's it. Time to go back and see how the current season shakes out...so that a 24-team field for 2019 can be determined.

I'm Jim Boston, and thanks for reading this blog!

College football fans, lick your chops!

First of all, I apologize for getting this post out this late. [This year's been one of so many life events...from a biopsy to my car's starter needing replacement to me needing an MRI. (By contrast, I got the chance to go to a high school reunion.)] 

But, anyway...I finally got the chance to find out which teams would populate the 2018 version of an NCAA Division 1-A football playoff (that is...if Mark Emmert and Co. actually conducted such a sports event instead of leaving it up to the people who run the five biggest revenue-producing collegiate conferences). 

Without further ado, here's the 24-team field, with each club's record as of 12-15-2018 (just before the bowl games):

1. Clemson (13-0; ACC champ)/2. Alabama (13-0; SEC champ)/3. Notre Dame (12-0; independent at-large)/4. Central Florida (12-0; AAC champ)/5. Oklahoma (12-1; Big 12 champ)/6. Ohio State (12-1; Big Ten champ)/7. Georgia (11-2; SEC at-large)/8. Michigan (10-2; Big Ten at-large) 

9. Appalachian State (10-2; Sun Belt champ)/10. Washington State (10-2; Pac-12 at-large)/11. Fresno State (11-2; Mountain West champ)/12. Cincinnati (10-2; AAC at-large)/13. Army (10-2; independent at-large)/14. Utah State (10-2; Mountain West at-large)/15. Washington (10-3; Pac-12 champ)/16. Boise State (10-3; Mountain West at-large) 

17. UAB (10-3; C-USA champ)/18. Buffalo (10-3; MAC at-large)/19. Penn State (9-3; Big Ten at-large)/20. Louisiana State (9-3; SEC at-large)/21. Kentucky (9-3; SEC at-large)/22. Syracuse (9-3; ACC at-large)/23. North Carolina State (9-3; ACC at-large)/24. Northern Illinois (8-5; MAC champ) 

Some surprises jump out right off the bat.

*First of all, maybe the biggest surprise is how Dabo Swinney's Tigers jumped ahead of Nick Saban's Crimson Tide to snare the top seed in this year's "shoulda-coulda-woulda" D-1-A playoffs.

Clemson earned 680 quality points this time around, while 'Bama totaled 670. (The figures include the 55 bonus points each unbeaten team gets.) The difference: The ACC's best team played eight teams that ended up with winning records, and the SEC's kingpin took on (as things turned out) seven winning squads here in 2018. And Alabama's Division 1-AA foe, The Citadel, had a 5-6 season (same as in 2017!)...while Clemson's single 1-AA opponent, Furman, came in at 6-4 this time around.

Now's a great time to tell you how this point system works. For starters, a Division 1-A team earns 50 quality points for defeating a 1-A club that had a winning record and 45 points for stopping a 1-A squad that played .500 ball or worse. If the 1-A team beat a winning Division 1-AA entry, that's 40 quality points. If the D-1-AA member had a losing (or .500) campaign, that means 35 points. 

A team in Division 1-A can lose quality points, too. If a club loses to a winning D-1-A squad, 50 quality points are subtracted. Had a nonwinning 1-A team administered the defeat, our contingent loses 55 quality points. 

What if our 1-A team lost to winning 1-AA one? Well, the 1-A team surrenders 60 points...while the 1-A team coughs up 65 points for losing to a 1-AA foe that faced a .500 campaign or worse. 

*Well, this version of a 24-team playoff includes four SEC clubs...in addition, the ACC, Big Ten, and supposedly inferior Mountain West each contributed three entries. And in this cycle, the only three leagues with one squad apiece are Conference USA, the Sun Belt, and- that's right- the Big 12.

*Speaking of Conference USA and the Sun Belt Conference...their champions were involved in tiebreakers.

And both won out!

In these playoffs, the first tiebreaker involves the number of wins a club's Division 1-A opponents racked up. And here in 2018, UAB's 1-A combatants won 68 games to Buffalo's 1-A opponents' 65.

Even more startling is how Appalachian State beat Washington State to the ninth seed. The 1-A teams that played the Mountaineers won 67 games while those that took on the Cougars racked up 66 victories. (And, yes, Louisiana-Lafayette- Appalachian's SBC championship-game victim- counts twice on App State's schedule. Conference title games count in this tiebreaker...even if they're rematches of regular-season tilts.)  

*Fresno State and Cincinnati were involved in another tiebreaker. The Bulldogs bested the Bearcats because Fresno's Division 1-A opponents won 72 games to the 62 wins picked up by Cincy's 1-A foes. Jeff Tedford's club took on Boise State twice (losing to the Broncos in the regular season, then beating them for the MWC crown)...but if you count just one Fresno State-Boise State game (ending up with a 62-62 tie when it comes to 1-A opponents' wins), the Californians still beat the Ohioans because Fresno's 8-1 conference mark topped Cincinnati's 6-2 AAC showing.

Had Luke Fickell's Bearcats taken on Fresno State, the head-to-head competition would've taken precedence over conference marks.

If the tied teams' conference records are the same, point differential is examined, first in head-to-head competition, then inside the conference(s)...then in all games. 

Just in case all else fails, it all comes down to a coin toss. 

Well, at any rate, I can't wait to play these games! I'll be using trusty ol' 3-in-1 Football, from Lance Haffner Games (and it'll all be computer vs. computer).

Wishing you all the very best in 2019 and beyond...and thanks for reading this blog!

And the freshmen take over...

Sorry about not being able to post this sooner. (Well, you know those pesky-yet-vital life events...)

The 2017 NCAA Division 1-A "Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda" football playoffs are finished, and here's what happened (seeding in parentheses):

FIRST ROUND: Penn State (9) 28, Washington State (24) 0; Boise State (16) 16, Auburn (17)14; South Florida (20) 21, San Diego State (13) 14; Notre Dame (21) 29, Miami (FL) (12) 28; Troy (14) 42, Florida Atlantic (19) 32; Washington (11) 28, Michigan State (22) 7; TCU (18) 37, Memphis (15) 21; Oklahoma State (23) 53, USC (10) 28

SECOND ROUND: Penn State 42, Central Florida (1) 34; Toledo (8) 20, Boise State 15; Wisconsin (5) 21, South Florida 7; Clemson (4) 28, Notre Dame 21; Alabama (6) 59, Troy 13; Washington 28, Oklahoma (3) 25; Ohio State (7) 35, TCU 14; Georgia (2) 35, Oklahoma State 7

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Penn State 44, Toledo 21; Wisconsin 14, Clemson 7; Alabama 35, Washington 0; Georgia 15, Ohio State 14

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Wisconsin 28, Penn State 14; Georgia 35, Alabama 14

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Georgia 28, Wisconsin 17

Well, how about some highlights?

FIRST ROUND: Darius Anderson's three touchdowns helped Horned Frogs spoil Tigers' playoff debut...Brandon Silvers fired four TD passes to key Trojans' win over Owls...109,990 filled up Beaver Stadium as Saquon Barkley scored three times in Nittany Lions' rout of Cougars...Fighting Irish won because Brandon Wimbush (who also tossed three air scores) tallied the game-winning two-point conversion after Kevin Stepherson scooted in from 79 yards out with 2:27 to go in the fourth quarter...Broncos pulled it out with just 18 seconds to play in regulation when LB Desmond Williams sacked Tiger QB Jarrett Stidham in the end zone...Bulls won it on Quinton Flowers' 25-yard scoring strike to Tyre McCants with 5:42 left in the third period...Huskies wiped out a 7-0 Spartan lead; Myles Gaskin led the way with two TDs...Cowboys shocked Trojans because Mason Rudolph went 24-42-399 yards-2 TDs-2 INTs while Justice Hill ran for four TDs on a 15-rush, 121-yard night and James Washington caught seven balls for 124 yards and a score.

SECOND ROUND: Buckeyes rained 28 unanswered points on Frogs to erase a 14-7 TCU lead; J.K. Dobbins (20-83-2 TDs) led the way...Jonathan Taylor got 128 yards and two TDs (he ran 28 times) to help Badgers stop Bulls, who had 12 penalties for 77 yards...Logan Woodside flipped a one-yard TD pass to Jon'Vea Johnson with 2:07 remaining in regulation to enable Rockets to sideline Broncos...Tavien Feaster brought it in from the Irish one-yard line with 57 ticks to go in the fourth to let Tigers give Notre Dame a taste of its own medicine...Lavon Coleman's two scores (and another by Gaskin) allowed Huskies to overcome Sooners' 505-yard offensive display...Crimson Tide outrushed Trojans, 297-38, with Jalen Hurts going 15-108-1 TD (while passing for 270 yards and another score)...Sony Michel (15-105-2 TDs) and Nick Chubb (19-78-1 TD) keyed Bulldogs' lassoing of Cowboys, while Jake Fromm threw for two more scores...Golden Knights wasted McKenzie Milton's 28-35-309 yards-5 TDs-0 picks passing effort (and became the second top seed in as many seasons to go one-and-done) when Barkley scooted for 99 yards (on 20 carries) and three touchdowns.

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Taylor's one-yard score with 5:21 left in the fourth lifted Badgers over Tigers...Trace McSorley ran for three TDs and tossed an air score as Nittany Lions capitalized on 11 Rocket penalties that totaled 56 yards...Tide rolled, all right, nearly doubling up Huskies in yardage (521-267) while Damien Harris picked up three TDs (two on the ground, the other on a catch) and Hurts ran 10 times for 115 yards and connected on 11 of 21 throws for 205 yards and that TD pass...Fromm found Terry Godwin in the end zone from nine yards out with 1:25 to go in the fourth, and the Bulldogs won it on D'Andre Swift's two-point conversion run.

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Badgers held Nittany Lions to 128 total yards (38 on the ground) and sacked McSorley seven times (twice each by Alec James and D'Cota Dixon) while Taylor ran it 26 times for 137 yards and three tallies...Chubb scored twice on an 18-tote, 57-yard effort to put the Tide away. 

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: At Atlanta's brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the Badgers coughed up a 14-7 halftime lead because Fromm went right to work, firing three scoring strikes, with the second TD toss- a ten-yarder to Riley Ridley- proving to be the winning score. 

Result: Kirby Smart became just the third head coach to take an SEC team to the top of these D-1-A playoffs and, in the process, the 'Dogs ended the Big Ten's control of the championship trophy.

And, on top of that, not one, but two- two- TWO freshmen got the playoff MVP award: Taylor (for running 96 times for 399 yards and six touchdowns) and Fromm (because he completed 45 passes in 73 tosses for 814 yards and seven TDs against three picks...good for a rating of 177.1).

 

This season- well, at least on this computer- came down to the first Division 1-A championship game involving a pair of first-time participants since 2013 (when Baylor topped Louisville, 35-28).

What about next season?

Well, we'll just have to wait and see.

Are you ready?

Well, here they are...the 24 teams, top seed to bottom, that would've made the 2017 NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs had the NCAA decided to stage such an event:

1. Central Florida (12-0; AAC champ)/2. Georgia (12-1; SEC champ)/3. Oklahoma (12-1; Big 12 champ)/4. Clemson (12-1; ACC champ)/5. Wisconsin (12-1; Big Ten at-large)/6. Alabama (11-1; SEC at-large)/7. Ohio State (11-2; Big Ten champ)/8. Toledo (11-2; MAC champ)

9. Penn State (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/10. USC (11-2; Pac-12 champ)/11. Washington (10-2; Pac-12 at-large)/12. Miami (FL) (10-2; ACC at-large)/13. San Diego State (10-2; Mountain West at-large)/14. Troy (10-2; Sun Belt champ)/15. Memphis (10-2; AAC at-large)/16. Boise State (10-3; Mountain West champ)

17. Auburn (10-3; SEC at-large)/18. TCU (10-3; Big 12 at-large)/19. Florida Atlantic (10-3; Conference USA champ)/20. South Florida (9-2; AAC at-large)/21. Notre Dame (9-3; independent at-large)/22. Michigan State (9-3; Big Ten at-large)/23. Oklahoma State (9-3; Big 12 at-large)/24. Washington State (9-3; Pac-12 at-large)

All the won-lost records you see don't include the bowl games.

Can't wait to play these games (I'll be using Lance Haffner Games' 3-in-1 Football again)...and when they're all done and a new champion is crowned (unless Penn State repeats!), I'll get the scores and highlights posted.

I'm Jim Boston...thanks for reading this blog! 

A playoff cycle for the books!

The first six-touchdown performance in the history of these "shoulda-coulda-woulda" Division 1-A football playoffs...the first second-round loss by a Number One seed in six years...a team that'd been 0-2 in playoff appearances finally rising up to win a pair of postseason contests...a Mid-American Conference team making the Final Four for the first time...and a new color in the throne room.

Well, I'm just going to cut to the chase and tell you how the 2016 edition of this version of a big-school NCAA football playoff went down: 

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): Michigan (9) 63, Oklahoma State (24) 21; San Diego State (16) 28, Toledo (17) 7; Colorado (13) 30, USC (20) 23; Wisconsin (12) 31, Nebraska (21) 0; Florida State (19) 41, Western Kentucky (14) 34; Stanford (22) 24, South Florida (11) 21; Louisville (18) 28, Temple (15) 14; West Virginia (10) 31, Appalachian State (23) 27

SECOND ROUND: Michigan 37, Alabama (1) 22; San Diego State 28, Boise State (8) 7; Ohio State (5) 21, Colorado 13; Washington (4) 42, Wisconsin 10; Penn State (6) 46, Florida State 7; Clemson (3) 30, Stanford 21; Oklahoma (7) 28, Louisville 21; Western Michigan (2) 19, West Virginia 3

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Michigan 42, San Diego State 17; Washington 13, Ohio State 12; Penn State 38, Clemson 27; Western Michigan 35, Oklahoma 28

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Washington 20, Michigan 6; Penn State 34, Western Michigan 20

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Penn State 29, Washington 13

Now...on to the highlights!

FIRST ROUND: Freshman RB Chris Evans (12) keyed the Wolverines' rout of the Cowboys by scoring six TDs- four on the ground, one on a catch, and the other on an 84-yard punt return- to break Ki-Jana Carter's one-game record of five, set in 1994 (still the mark for a championship game)...after two first-round failures (1986 and 2015), Aztecs rode RB Donnel Pumphrey's 18-carry, 200-yard spree to victory over the Rockets...Hilltoppers' 30 first downs (and 574-527 yardage edge) weren't enough to stop the Seminoles, who won the game when WR Kermit Whitfield ran it in from seven yards with 3:05 to go in the fourth quarter...in a battle of Mountaineers, West Virginia pulled it out with 4:15 left in the fourth on RB Justin Crawford's two-yard scoring jaunt after K Michael Rubino's 48-yard field goal gave Appalachian State a brief 27-24 lead...Buffaloes avenged a 20-5 loss to the Trojans when QB Sefo Liufau scooted to paydirt from the USC 11...Badgers capitalized on Husker QB Tommy Armstrong's absence (due to an injury against Iowa) by limiting Nebraska to 229 total yards and by avoiding turnovers and penalties...RB Christian McCaffrey (20 runs, 133 yards, 2 TDs) helped Cardinal overcome Bulls' 14-10 halftime lead.

SECOND ROUND: Broncos dismissed the Men from Morgantown by holding WVU to a sickening 76 total yards (44 on the ground, 32 in the air)...RB Saquon Barkley (23 rushes, 101 yards) and QB Trace McSorley (two TD passes, two rushing scores) keyed Nittany Lions' dismantling of Seminoles...QB Baker Mayfield hooked up with WR Dede Westbrook for a 54-yard TD to advance Sooners over Cardinals (and their Heisman-winning QB, Lamar Jackson)...McCaffrey took the opening kickoff 100 yards for a score, but Tigers overcame all that with QB Deshaun Watson's three TD tosses (and 20-of-29 passing for 187 yards)...the Pumphrey Express flattened Boise State (he gained 131 yards on 23 tries and scored a TD)...QB Jake Browning's four air scores (18-29-359 yards-2 INTs on the night) helped Huskies oust Badgers...Crimson Tide outgained Wolverines, 334-253, and kept Evans out of the end zone- but six sacks by Michigan's defense led to Alabama's demise (six years after Wisconsin embarrassed top-seeded Auburn, 28-21, in the second round). 

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: 19 Tiger penalties (for 131 yards) caused Clemson to waste Watson's 38-49-358 yard-3 TD-2 INT effort...for the first time ever, a team from the Mid-American Conference reached the semifinals- because WMU QB Zach Terrell flipped a one-yard scoring toss to WR Corey Davis with 4:54 remaining in regulation to kick the Sooners out of the playoffs...in what was a game of three-pointers, WR Aaron Fuller won it for the Huskies by running a punt back 80 yards to daylight (after returning just one other punt during the season- and that for five yards)...QB Wilton Speight's five TD throws (he went 20 for 31 for 311 yards and two picks) helped the Wolverines bury the Aztecs.

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Terrell outdueled McSorley (316 passing yards to 290), but Trace flicked three air scores to Zach's two- and got help from Barkley, who ran 24 times for 121 yards...Huskies held Wolverines to 272 total yards- 54 on the ground (in 28 carries); meanwhile, Browning and WR Chico McClatcher hooked up for two scoring strikes.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Barkley (this season's playoff MVP) toted the Nittany Lions on his back by scoring a pair of TDs (while running 24 times for 88 yards).

Result: Penn State won it all for the first time since 1994 (when the team from State College, PA crushed Kansas State, 63-14, in Carter's monster game).

The Nittany Lions kept the "shoulda-coulda-woulda" crown in Big Ten Conference hands (Iowa was last season's champ after stopping Alabama, 14-7, in overtime).

The Blue and White became the fourth club in the history of these playoffs to win it all under two different head coaches- joining Nebraska (Tom Osborne in 1982, 1989, 1990, 1993, and 1997 and Frank Solich in 1999), Miami (FL) (Dennis Erickson turned the trick in 1992, followed nine years later by Larry Coker), and Ohio State (which won in 1996 under John Cooper, then did it again in 2005, 2007, and 2010- all on Jim Tressel's watch).

And 22 years after Joe Paterno brought the crown to Happy Valley, James Franklin got it done...and became the first African American to head up a champion in this version of a D-1-A playoff. 

Had Washington come through, Chris Peterson would've made "shoulda-coulda-woulda" history, too...as the first head coach to take two different teams to the top. (His Boise State squad went all the way in 2006 and 2008.)

This playoff cycle was truly one for the books.

Can the 2017 playoffs top that? 

I'm Jim Boston...thanks for reading this blog!

There's good college football ALL OVER this country

That's right, folks...the South (and the Southeastern Conference in particular) doesn't have the corner on how the collegiate game (especially the NCAA Division 1-A kind) should be (let alone IS) played.

I'm just now getting this put up, and I apologize for the delay in bringing this to you. (After all, it comes down to those pesky-yet-vital things called "life events." They've got to get taken care of.) 

Here's how this one blogger's version of a 2016 Division 1-A college football playoff looks (regular-season records shown in parentheses):

1. Alabama (13-0; SEC champ)/2. Western Michigan (13-0; MAC champ)/3. Clemson (12-1; ACC champ)/4. Washington (12-1; Pac-12 champ)/5. Ohio State (11-1; Big Ten at-large)/6. Penn State (11-2; Big Ten champ)/7. Oklahoma (10-2; Big 12 champ)/8. Boise State (10-2; Mountain West at-large)

9. Michigan (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/10. West Virginia (10-2; Big 12 at-large)/11. South Florida (10-2; AAC at-large)/12. Wisconsin (10-2; Big Ten at-large)/13. Colorado (10-3; Pac-12 at-large)/14. Western Kentucky (10-3; C-USA champ)/15. Temple (10-3; AAC champ)/16. San Diego State (10-3; Mountain West champ)

17. Toledo (9-3; MAC at-large)/18. Louisville (9-3; ACC at-large)/19. Florida State (9-3; ACC at-large)/20. USC (9-3; Pac-12 at-large)/21. Nebraska (9-3; Big Ten at-large)/22. Stanford (9-3; Pac-12 at-large)/23. Appalachian State (9-3; Sun Belt champ)/24. Oklahoma State (9-3; Big 12 at-large)

Thirteen of this year's shoulda-coulda-woulda playoff teams were in there in 2015, when Iowa needed an overtime run by Jordan Canzeri to dethrone Alabama, 14-7. One of the baker's-dozen holdover clubs, Oklahoma State, nosed Air Force out for the last playoff spot; each team had 260 quality points. Nevertheless, the Cowboys got the edge over the Falcons because Oklahoma State's D-1-A opponents won 69 games this past season...while the Academy's D-1-A foes totaled just 66 wins. 

Boise State and Wisconsin are back after a year's absence, Louisville comes back after losing the 2013 title game to Baylor,

Nebraska's back in after a four-year hiatus, and six squads- Penn State (first time since 2009),

USC (2008), South Florida (2007), West Virginia (2005), Colorado (2002), and Washington (2001) are all making 2010s playoff appearances for the first time.

And Western Michigan's in the field for the first time since 1988 (when the Broncos lost in the second round to eventual kingpin UCLA).

At least P.J. Fleck's undefeated club has some MAC company in this year's playoffs, what with Toledo keeping its place at the table (despite Jason Candle taking over from Matt Campbell as head coach).

Nick Saban's Tuscaloosa juggernaut is the lone SEC team this go-'round. (Auburn, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas A&M won eight contests apiece in 2016. And, when it comes to these playoffs, eight isn't enough...unless it's a conference champion.) 

This year, five Big Ten teams got in, four Pac-12 ones made it, and three each from the Big 12 and the ACC punched playoff tickets. 

Even the AAC and the Mountain West were able to join the MAC in outperforming the SEC in playoff entries. 

In all, eight schools with Southeastern zip codes entered their football teams into this version of a 2016 1-A playoff. 

At any rate, I'll be using Lance Haffner Games' 3-in-1 Football (computer vs. computer mode) to play these games...and I'll get the results posted as soon as possible.

Who knows?

Maybe 'Bama will get its 1-A playoff championship back. 

No Repeat...No Repeat

As things turned out with this "shoulda/coulda/woulda" version of the 2015 NCAA Division 1-A football playoffs, it all came down to two teams looking for a second playoff championship...one of them going after a second consecutive title in this version of a big-school playoff. 

Time to just cut to the chase and show you just what happened:

FIRST ROUND (seeding in parentheses): Western Kentucky (9) 38, Arkansas State (24) 6; TCU (16) 28, Appalachian State (17) 14; Florida State (13) 14, Florida (20) 10; Northwestern (12) 10, Temple (21) 0; Oklahoma State (14) 63, Bowling Green State (19) 42; Notre Dame (11) 21, San Diego State (22) 7; Navy (15) 24, Toledo (18) 0; North Carolina (10) 21, Michigan (23) 3

SECOND ROUND: Clemson (1) 35, Western Kentucky 31; Stanford (8) 35, TCU 21; Florida State 22, Houston (5) 21; Iowa (4) 21, Northwestern 7; Oklahoma (6) 42, Oklahoma State 28; Michigan State (3) 14, Notre Dame 0; Ohio State (7) 21, Navy 7; Alabama (2) 28, North Carolina 0

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Clemson 19, Stanford 14; Iowa 21, Florida State 14; Oklahoma 28, Michigan State 7; Alabama 21, Ohio State 7

SEMIFINAL ROUND: Iowa 20, Clemson 14; Alabama 24, Oklahoma 7

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Iowa 14, Alabama 7 (1 OT) 

Now...it's time for some highlights!

FIRST ROUND: Brandon Doughty completed 30 of 37 passes for 357 and four TDs to key the Hilltoppers (favorite target Taywan Taylor caught six balls for 134 yards and two TDs)...Trevone Boykin's 80-yard scoring toss to Kolby Listenbee 3:17 into the game set the tone for the Horned Frogs...Wildcats outgained Owls, 268-256...Gators couldn't capitalize on their two first-quarter safeties (for a 4-0 lead), and went on to be held to 186 total yards (25 of 'em on the ground in 36 tries) while Seminoles' Dalvin Cook scampered for 125 yards in 23 trips (scored a TD, too)...Fighting Irish outgained Aztecs, 463-207 and held the Mountain West kingpins to just 40 passing yards (on 3-for-17 throwing)...Keenan Reynolds (26-134 with a pair of scores) led a Midshipmen attack that got 323 rushing yards in 69 totes...Cowboys outgained Falcons in a barnburner in Stillwater, 590-560; OSU's Mason Rudolph (29-42-523-6 TDs-1 INT)

and BGSU's Matt Johnson (31-57-521-% TDs-1 INT)

put on quite a show, while winners' James Washington snared three scoring tosses in a four-catch, 154-yard showing- to waste Roger Lewis' six-catch, 210-yard, two-TD effort for Bowling Green State...Wolverines got more yards than Tar Heels, 399-358, but lost because they committed 13 penalties for 71 yards.

SECOND ROUND: Cougars coughed up a 21-7 lead, then with 41 ticks to go in regulation, couldn't stop Cook from scoring the winning two-point conversion (after Seminoles' Everett Golson fired a three-yard scoring strike to Ermon Lane)...J.T. Barrett's 80-yard TD run on the first play of the game set things up for the Buckeyes...Wildcats' Solomon Vault took the opening kickoff back 100 yards for the game's first score, but all it did was lead to 21 unanswered Hawkeye points in a rematch of a regular-season game...in another rematch, Baker Mayfield matched Rudolph in touchdown throws (four)- but the Sooners picked off three Rudolph aerials...Irish outgained Spartans, 419-310 (with C.J. Prosise getting 138 yards in 16 rushes), but just couldn't find the end zone...Christian McCaffrey's 225 all-purpose yards (134 on the ground, 41 on catches, and 50 on returns) helped Cardinal sideline Frogs in a game where TCU once led, 14-7...Derrick Henry put on a 26-144-3 TD show

as Crimson Tide held Tar Heels to 52 ground yards...Wayne Gallman's one-yard scoring run with 1:17 to play in fourth quarter saved Tigers' bacon (and made Deshaun Watson's 368 total yards- 216 by air, 152 by land- stand up). 

QUARTERFINAL ROUND: Cook still got his yards (18-134-1 TD), but Derrick Mitchell scored from four yards out with 8:38 to play in the fourth stanza to lift the Hawkeyes (Iowa had trailed, 14-7)...Sooners erased a 7-7 tie by reeling off 21 unanswered points...Tide and Buckeyes got involved in a bitter, sloppy game marked by 23 penalties (13 by Ohio State, 10 by Alabama); Heisman winner Henry outrushed the Bucks, 103-94- and scored twice...Tigers won it on C.J. Fuller's five-yard run with 1:40 to go in regulation; what's more, Clemson limited McCaffrey to 34 yards in 19 attempts.

SEMIFINAL ROUND:

Playoff MVP Desmond King swiped four Watson passes and helped Hawkeyes force him into a 13-for-27-for 165 yards outing (and helped thwart Tigers' furious fourth-quarter rally)...Henry scored twice in a 27-121 effort that drew 102,354 to Bryant-Denny Stadium.

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: At University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ, Henry was held to 99 yards in 22 carries. On top of that, Hawkeyes outgained Tide, 264-263...with the difference coming from Jordan Canzeri's game-winning TD with 12:52 to play in overtime.

With that, instead of Alabama getting its second straight D-1-A playoff championship, Iowa gained its second playoff title- and first since 2002.

Another thing Kirk Ferentz' team did by retaking the top was end a four-year period in which a team that had never won these Division 1-A playoffs before triumphed.

Who knows how the 2016 Division 1-A football playoffs (at least this version) will shape up? Stay tuned!