College Football Playoff storylines: Breaking down challenges facing each semifinal team pursuing title

The final four teams are all capable of coming away with the national title, but each has to overcome a particular obstacle to achieve glory

And then there were four.

Our long, beautiful college football season has come down to just four teams left: Indiana, Miami, Ole Miss and Oregon. 

It was a wild, unpredictable road to get here. 

Indiana crushed all the competition to go undefeated, prove last year's critics wrong and set up what could be the ultimate dream season for the Hoosiers. 

Oregon dropped a lone game to the aforementioned Hoosiers but look to be peaking at the right time now after playoff wins over James Madison and Texas Tech.

Miami started the season with such lofty expectations only to come crashing down with losses to Louisville and SMU. The Hurricanes seemed to be on the outside looking in headed into the final week of the regular season but snuck in as the final team in the College Football Playoff. Miami has justified its inclusion with upset wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 7 Texas A&M.

Ole Miss has gone through more than anyone to get here -- from a near-perfect regular season to the Lane Kiffin will-he-or-won't-he drama overshadowing the Rebels' on-field accomplishments. Even after Lane Kiffin left for LSU, he continues to hang over Ole Miss because of how he's handled allowing coaches to finish out the season. 

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David Cobb

All four took different paths to get to this moment, but all four share one major thing in common now: Each is one win away from being in a national championship game. 

Here's what to watch for each of the four remaining teams. 

(1) Indiana

How real is the rematch challenge?

There's a classic sports cliche that it's hard to beat a good team twice. Indiana's Curt Cignetti even referenced it earlier this week when talking about his team having to play Oregon again this season. 

The first foray went well for Indiana, a 30-20 win in Eugene, but both teams have changed since then. The question that has hung over the Peach Bowl is how much harder is it to beat a team a second time in one season as opposed to a new opponent? Ole Miss has been on both sides of it already this year, beating Tulane and Georgia in the playoff after playing both in the regular season. Ole Miss' lone loss of the year was that regular-season loss to the Bulldogs. 

What was interesting Wednesday night during the Peach Bowl media session was Indiana defensive coordinator Bryant Haines admitting he's never dealt with a rematch like this before. 

"This is the first time coaching against the same team twice, although I do feel like we have both morphed away from what we were in Game 1, but this is my first time doing it," Haines said. "So I don't know for sure, but in the game plan process, it has been tricky. I am like, I don't want to do that again. I already brought that pressure and hit the quarterback. Now I've got to do it this way. But why? The first one worked. So it's a very delicate balance there."

In a way, you can psych yourself out. Do you stick with what worked in the first game? Trying to make changes to anticipate the changes Oregon might throw out at you? As Indiana offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan put it, it's like a chess match. 

(10) Miami

Do you trust Mario Cristobal in a crucial situation?

Miami is hot right now and finally putting all its talented pieces together into a formidable team. Miami's talent in the trenches especially could be a real challenge for Ole Miss in Arizona. 

But the biggest question I'll always have with a Mario Cristobal-coached team is do I really trust him to make the right decision in the most critical junctures of a close game? Cristobal's strategic mishaps are well established at this point. To his credit, he's worked hard behind-the-scenes to improve his decision-making in those moments. 

What separates the good coaches from the great ones, however, in some ways can't be taught. When the pressure is highest and everyone is waiting on you to make the final decision, the great ones know what to do. The not-so-great ones might be overly aggressive or misread the situation to the team's detriment. In the past, Cristobal has fallen into that category. 

Cristobal deserves kudos for Miami winning a tight, pressurized game on the road against Texas A&M in the first round. Ole Miss should provide another big challenge for him, particularly with how well Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss is playing right now. 

Can Cristobal rise to the moment? Can he make the big, tough decisions when it matters most? It could have a big impact on whether Miami gets to return home and play for a national championship in 10 days.

(6) Ole Miss

How much will the missing assistants matter?

As mentioned above, Ole Miss' first two playoff games came against opponents it had already played this season. With that came the aforementioned challenges, but at least there was familiarity there. Especially against another SEC team like Georgia, Pete Golding and his staff had a good idea of what to expect. 

Against Miami, a team it does not know nearly as well, Ole Miss will be without tight ends coach Joe Cox and receivers coach George McDonald. It has also dealt with offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. having to fly back and forth between Oxford and Baton Rouge to prepare for the Fiesta Bowl while assisting Lane Kiffin in his portal recruitment strategy. 

Golding and the rest of his Ole Miss staff have handled things as well as possible. Multiple sources have told CBS Sports that Weis Jr. is the real key and that the Rebels will be fine without Cox and McDonald. Ole Miss has certainly prepared for their potential absence and has other coaches on staff ready and able to step up. 

But if there was going to be an impact, it'd be in this game. It was a quick turnaround between a late-night Sugar Bowl win and tonight's Fiesta Bowl against Miami. You have all the Kiffin drama continuing to hang over your bowl preparations while also trying to retain your top talent like Kewan Lacy. There's just a lot going on, a lot of things demanding Golding and the rest of the staff's time and energy. 

(5) Oregon

How does Oregon get Dante Moore going?

In that lone loss to Indiana, Oregon star quarterback Dante Moore struggled against Bryant Haines' talented defense. Moore went 21 of 34 for 186 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. It was one of two two-interception games for Moore this season, the other coming in a bit of a sloppy first round playoff win over James Madison. 

Talent evaluators think highly of Moore -- he could even be the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft -- but the production hasn't always been there. Against Texas Tech, Moore threw one interception and zero touchdowns. He has four games this season where he threw for less than 200 yards, including an ugly stretch in consecutive wins over Wisconsin and Iowa. 

Indiana has done a terrific job this year making life difficult for the opposing quarterback. It did it to Moore, it did it to Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin in the Big Ten Championship Game and it certainly did it to Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson in the Rose Bowl. On those critical third-down opportunities is when Indiana's defense seems to be at its best. 

It'll be supremely important for Oregon offensive coordinator Will Stein to find some early opportunities to get Moore comfortable and moving the ball. The run game is missing a critical piece in running back Jordan Davison, putting even more pressure on Moore to carry this offense.