CFP predictions: College football fans pick the playoff quarterfinals winners

There is only one way to properly ring in a new year.

By angrily cursing the previous one.

Wait, I’m being told there is another way.

Thanks to the College Football Playoff, we can now ring in a new year by watching some quarterfinal playoff games. The games begin on New Year’s Eve, where No. 10 Miami takes on No. 2 Ohio State, and continue on New Year’s Day starting with No. 5 Oregon meeting No. 4 Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl. Two more games come our way on New Year’s Day, first with No. 9 Alabama taking on No. 1 Indiana in the Rose Bowl, and finally No. 6 Ole Miss meeting No. 3 Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

Ahead of the games, we polled college football fans for their picks for each matchup. Here are the results.

Happy New Year, friends.

Cotton Bowl: No. 10 Miami vs. No. 2 Ohio State

After what felt like months of debate and discourse, Miami rode a tremendous defensive performance to a 10-3 win over Texas A&M.

Their reward? A spot in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State, a team that spent most of the year in the No. 1 spot and sports Heisman Trophy finalist Julian Sayin, two tremendous receivers in Jeremiah Smith and Carnell Tate, and a defense filled with first-round prospects.

As you might expect, the bulk of fans believe Miami’s run ends before the ball drops in Times Square:

A whopping 83% of respondents believe the Buckeyes win on New Year’s Eve.

Ohio State is listed as a 9.5-point favorite on FanDuel.

Orange Bowl: No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 4 Texas Tech

Arguably the best matchup of the slate kicks off the new year, as Oregon meets Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl Thursday afternoon. Texas Tech brings one of the best defenses in the nation to Miami, as the Red Raiders rank third in the nation in total defense.

Oregon is not far behind, as the Ducks rank seventh.

According to FanDuel not only is this expected to be the closest game of the week, it is the only game where the lower-ranked team is considered the favorite. Oregon is a 2.5-point favorite in this game.

Readers would agree with that assessment:

Not only are the Ducks picked to win by the readers, 63% of readers believe Oregon is going to win on Thursday.

Rose Bowl: No. 9 Alabama vs. No. 1 Indiana

Does Fernando Mendoza’s dream season continue?

The Hoosiers roll into the Rose Bowl after winning the Big Ten Championship Game for the first time in school history. Since then Mendoza has secured the Heisman Trophy, and Indiana is rested and ready for a playoff run. Standing in there way is Alabama, coming off a win over No. 8 Oklahoma in Norman.

By a healthy margin, readers believe Mendoza’s dream season does roll on:

Indiana is favored by 7.5 points against Alabama.

Sugar Bowl: No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 3 Georgia

The final game of the four comes from the Sugar Bowl, where Ole Miss takes on Georgia in an SEC clash. These two teams met earlier this year, with Georgia scoring 17 unanswered points to a 43-35 win.

Of course, that game was played under much different circumstances. Not only was it a home game for the Bulldogs, but Lane Kiffin was prowling the sidelines for Ole Miss.

Readers believe the rematch will play out like the first installment:

Georgia is a 6.5-point favorite in the Sugar Bowl, according to FanDuel.