With the College Football Playoff, a lot of excitement is expected to ensue on New Year’s Day. The Emerald reached out to the student newspapers from Alabama, Florida State and Ohio State asking for the case as to why their respective university will win the National Championship.
The Case for Oregon
By Justin Wise, Emerald

Following Oregon’s lone loss of the season, the Ducks won eight straight games, while outscoring their opponents by an average of 26 points per game. Their turnover margin is +/- 14 and the defense made one of its most impressive statements yet in the Pac-12 Championship game.

That, combined with Heisman favorite Marcus Mariota behind center, means onlookers should believe the hype around Oregon heading into its matchup with Florida State.

Oregon’s offensive line will be at its best since September if Hroniss Grasu is cleared to play. But despite Grasu’s absence for the past three games, Oregon hasn’t skipped a beat.

Freshman running back Royce Freeman has passed the century mark six times this season and there’s no telling what he can do behind a healthy offensive line.

All that said, Mariota is still the overarching difference. He’s a cut above the rest of the competing quarterbacks.

Despite Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston’s known talent, the second-year starter is no longer the player he was when he won the Heisman. He’s thrown 17 interceptions compared to Mariota’s two. That’s why Oregon has an advantage. Its signal caller doesn’t turn the ball over and that ability will go even further when deciding the outcome of the Rose Bowl.

After that, Alabama poses the biggest threat to Oregon. Oregon has had bad luck with SEC teams, with losses to Auburn and LSU in the past few years.

However, this Oregon team may be different in a lot of senses. Its offensive line features two of the more stable players in the nation at the position in Grasu and Jake Fisher. Its defense has allowed just 17 points per game in its last five games and they’ve got Mariota guiding the offense.

Right now, as far as consistency and efficiency go, there isn’t a team playing better.
 
The Case for Florida State
By Andrew Macfarlane, Florida State View

Florida State is the villain of the 2014 season, there’s no doubt about it. Like the Alabamas, Floridas, USCs and Texases of years prior, everyone wants to see the mighty fall. Unfortunately for them, Florida State will travel to Pasadena without having experienced a loss in 738 days.

The Reemergence of Jameis Winston:

Over the course of the last few games, the nation has begun to remember what quarterback Jameis Winston is capable of. With the exception of the Florida game, where Winston threw four interceptions, Florida State’s No. 5 has shown why he won the Heisman Trophy last year. In the ACC Championship Game against Georgia Tech, he completed 70% of his throws, three of which landed for touchdowns.

The Arrival of Dalvin Cook:

Florida State’s true freshman Dalvin Cook has shown out as one of the nation’s most talented young backs. In the 12 games he’s recorded a touch, Cook’s accumulated 905 yards, a school record for freshmen, and eight scores. He’s become increasingly hotter, with 392 total yards in his last two games alone.

The Experience From Last Year’s BCS Championship Game:

When both teams arrive in Pasadena, it’ll be less than a year since Florida State was there lifting the crystal ball after leading a comeback against Auburn. Even though this game’s not the actual national title game, it’ll have the same feel to it.
 The Case for Ohio State
By Tim Moody, The Lantern

When quarterback Braxton Miller tore the labrum in his throwing shoulder, the Buckeyes’ outlook went from being potential national champions to a total unknown. Ohio State then fell to unranked Virginia Tech, seemingly ending any hopes at making the College Football Playoff.

But in a 66-0 thrashing of Kent State, J.T. Barrett tied a school record with six touchdown passes, allowing some hope to seep back through.

From there, the Buckeyes went on a run that included a 49-37 win over No. 8 Michigan State on the road.

The Buckeyes eventually entered the final game of the regular season — at Michigan — having already locked up a spot in the Big Ten Championship Game.

After falling behind against the Wolverines, Barrett led Ohio State into a second-half lead, but then fractured his ankle, leaving the Buckeyes down two Heisman candidates in a matter of months. Sophomore Cardale Jones only attempted 14 passes on the season coming into the game.

At the Big Ten Championship Game, despite being four point underdogs, the Buckeyes came out hot, and never let up, on their way to a 59-0 win.

The shellacking earned OSU a spot in the inaugural College Football Playoff, and a date with Alabama, where the Buckeyes will be underdogs once again.

Will they win? Probably not, but Jones and his teammates have proved along every step of the way that they have the ability to get it done under difficult circumstances. If Ohio State comes out like it did against Wisconsin, then a trip to New Orleans could easily be followed by a trip to Dallas because — at this point — why not the Buckeyes?
 
The Case for Alabama
By Sean Landry, The Crimson White

This new era of the College Football Playoff doesn’t feel that different, does it? Oregon’s high powered offense is playing against a southern team powered by a controversial-if-undeniably-talented quarterback, not unlike the 2011 BCS National Championship game.

Meanwhile, in one of college football’s modern traditions, Alabama is favored to win the national title.

The College Football Playoff features a pair of exciting matchups – particularly in the Rose Bowl, where Heisman-presumptive Marcus Mariota will go up against former Heisman winner Jameis Winston. Alabama, for its part, will get to face an Ohio State team that has an impressive offense and a defense whose best accomplishment this season is… holding Cincinnati to 28 points, I guess?

That offense, however, is lead by a freshman, who, despite an impressive debut, will be attempting to read one of the most complicated and well-coached defenses in college football.

Alabama’s run defense is not only one of the most dominant units this season, but in recent memory. The SEC Champions concede an average of 2.81 yards per carry, good for second in the nation despite games against some of football’s leading rushers. Most impressively, Alabama has conceded only three rushing touchdowns this season, best in the nation.

Alabama is the most talented team in college football, bar none. Wide receiver Amari Cooper is as good at his position as any player in the country, Mariota included. Quarterback Blake Sims has gone from perennial backup to one of the top signal-callers in the country. His QBR ranks second in the country, behind only Mariota. Both lines feature some of the best units around, and if T.J. Yeldon and Derrick Henry weren’t splitting carries, they’d be in the conversation for best running backs in the FBS. In terms of coaches, it would be hard find a team with a top three that compares to the Nick Saban-Kirby Smart-Lane Kiffin triumvirate. With over a month to prepare and a title to reclaim… well, it sure was nice of the rest of y’all to play.
 
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