College Football Playoff predictions: Expert picks for Rose Bowl, Sugar Bowl games
The national championship finalists will be decided Monday night in the playoff
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2 min read
The College Football Playoff is (finally) here, and all that's left is to get yourself ready for the big games. The Rose Bowl will kick things off on New Year's Day as the No. 2 and No. 3 teams square off in the historic stadium in Pasadena, California. That will be followed a few hours later by the third straight meeting of what has become college football's best postseason rivalry as the No. 1 and No. 4 teams in the nation square off at the Merdedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans.
As they have the rest of the year, our CBS Sports college football experts have picked every game -- against the spread -- ahead of the CFP. Check out their picks below. Also check out our SportsLine projection model, which predicts the score of every sporting event with tremendous accuracy.
Rose Bowl semifinal
No. 2 Oklahoma vs. No. 3 Georgia (-2.5) -- 5 p.m. on ESPN: The over/under for this game is now at 60, and the over still seems appealing given how well these two offenses work. That would seemingly play into Oklahoma's favor. And if there's one thing Baker Mayfield has proved, it's that it is hard to bet against him. This one is setting up to be a classic featuring the top offense in the nation (Oklahoma) against one of the country's five best defenses (Georgia). Something's gotta give in Pasadena, and I ultimately think the Bulldogs will be unable to stop the Sooners for the full 60 minutes. -- Ben Kercheval
Sugar Bowl semifinal
No. 1 Clemson vs. No. 4 Alabama (-2.5) -- 8:45 p.m. on ESPN: Of the three matchups between these two teams on the game's biggest stages, this is the best matchup for the Tigers. The reason is very simple: The Crimson Tide offense hasn't been able to evolve much under first-year offensive coordinator Brian Daboll because of the absence of a downfield threat opposite Calrvin Ridley and an offensive line that is not all that it is sometimes cracked up to be. That plays into the teeth of the Tigers strength -- that defensive front. The Tigers will put the Tide in third and medium (or worse) consistently, which has been their biggest Achilles' heel in 2017. They've converted 41.5 percent of their third down opportunities this year (No. 50 nationally), and 31.43 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 (No. 64). Give me the Tigers to not only cover, but win by 10 or more points. -- Barrett Sallee
