Every College Football Playoff team’s biggest matchup advantages

The College Football Playoff pairings were announced on Sunday afternoon, and while there were no surprises in the reveal, we can officially begin talking matchups. So let’s dive right in.

How’d they get here? Alabama became the first team in 130 years to win its first 12 games of the year by 20-plus points, then survived a massive test from Georgia in the SEC Championship game. Oklahoma won the Big 12, losing only to Texas in the regular season and then avenging the loss with a 12-point win in the conference title game

What’s Bama’s biggest advantage? In a matchup of the two best offenses in college football, Alabama’s defense is quite obviously much, much better. The Crimson Tide have the best defensive front that OU has played since last year’s Rose Bowl semifinal against Georgia.

Granted, the Sooners gashed the Dawgs for large portions of that game. Despite the loss of quarterback Baker Mayfield, OU’s offense has turned out to be every bit as good this season as last year’s version. Kyler Murray and OU are going to score on anybody. But the odds of Alabama making more stops against the No. 1 offense than Oklahoma does against the No. 2 offense? Obviously in Bama’s favor.

What’s OU’s biggest advantage? Even if Bama is making some stops, the Tide remain vulnerable to big plays. Bama has given up 54 gains of 20-plus yards this season — not horrible but still only 49th in the country. OU’s offense? Predictably, a distant first with 105 such gains, 12 more than second-place Alabama.

Of course, receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown is a big reason for those big numbers, and his status is, at the moment, uncertain moving forward. He left the Big 12 Championship game with a lower-body injury. With Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa expected to be recovered from his own injury within a couple of weeks, Brown’s status could become one of the most important story lines. With him, OU’s got the firepower to force Alabama into a track meet. Without him, the Sooners might not.

How’d they get here? By not losing! Clemson faced a schedule that was barely easier than UCF’s but plowed through it, struggling early against Texas A&M and Syracuse but cruising after Trevor Lawrence assumed the starting QB job. The Tigers have faced only two teams in the S&P+ top 40 since the A&M game but won those games by a combined 55 points. Notre Dame, meanwhile, took down Michigan in the season opener, named Ian Book its starter in the fourth game, and was barely tested thereafter. The Irish also didn’t face the most rigorous set of tests, but a mostly dominant defense kept them mostly out of harm’s way.

What’s Clemson’s biggest advantage? Quite simply, the Tigers should be able to render the Irish offense one-dimensional. Clemson has the best run defense in America — first in Rushing S&P+ and first in the eye test, to be honest — and while Notre Dame’s run game improved once running back Dexter Williams returned from suspension (he rushed for 941 yards in just eight games) it is still an all-or-nothing unit.

Jackson’s explosiveness is great, but if he’s primarily carving out one- or two-yard chunks, Book is going to find himself passing a lot on second-and-9 or third-and-8. Oh yeah, and Clemson’s got a top-10 sack rate as well. Scary combination.

What’s Notre Dame’s biggest advantage? Lawrence hasn’t really looked much like a freshman quarterback this season, but in the biggest game of his life, Notre Dame could be able to force him to play steady ball because of elite big-play prevention. The Irish gave up only 12 gains of 30-plus yards all season and rank in the top five of most of my advanced explosiveness categories.

Mind you, Clemson’s offense is plenty explosive. Backs Travis Etienne, Lyn-J Dixon, and Adam Choice have combined to average a staggering 8.4 yards per carry, and the receiving corps is overloaded with downfield weapons. But if the Irish can force Lawrence to simply make a lot of plays and remain patient, the moment might catch up to him at some point. Or not! But if Notre Dame figures out a way to pull the upset, it’ll probably come from forcing Clemson to work more methodically than it wants to.