By JOHN MOOREHOUSE
The College Football Playoff is here again! It’s the second — and, probably, final — year with 12 teams participating. We’re looking at expansion to 14, if not more, in 2026, which is only going to create more controversies and headaches.
Aaaaanyway, let’s focus on the actual games in the actual bracket being played. This week on The Friday 5, we look at five key numbers you should know going into the four first-round contests happening tonight and Saturday,
0: That’s the total number of games Pete Golding has under his belt as a head football coach, going into Saturday’s CFP game against Tulane in The Grove. Golding, who got his first coaching job at Tusculum, was named not the interim head coach but the permanent replacement for Lane Kiffin after Kiffin bolted to LSU a couple of days after the Egg Bowl. Golding already had a strong reputation as a defensive play-caller and the respect of the Rebel locker room, but how will that translate on game days? Making the transition to head coach is difficult for anyone. Golding finds himself in an unprecedented position of having to learn his way when the stakes couldn’t be higher. Ole Miss should beat Tulane easily on Saturday, but the pressure will be on for the quarterfinal with third-ranked Georgia on New Year’s Day at the Sugar Bowl.
2004: That’s the last time a team on the West Coast won the national championship in football. Oregon has a legitimate chance to end that drought. A curious loss to Indiana cost the Ducks an unbeaten season and a shot at the Big Ten title, but the Ducks enter the playoffs somewhat under the radar in my eyes. Oregon is 24-2 overall in the past two seasons, since it joined the Big Ten. Only Indiana (24-2) can boast a similar record over that same span. Also, keep in mind that last year’s CFP came down to the No. 5 seed, Ohio State, playing seventh-seeded Notre Dame in the championship.
2: The number of teams playing in the CFP that have lame-duck coaches. Bob Chesney already has taken the job at UCLA and will leave James Madison as soon as the Dukes’ unlikely playoff run ends — something that seems sure to happen Saturday at Oregon. Jon Sumrall and Tulane are in the same situation; Sumrall is leading the Green Wave into the playoff (against an Ole Miss team that already beat Tulane by five touchdowns during the season) but has also been setting up shop at his new gig at Florida. How much attention can Chesney and Sumrall really give the playoff while trying to lead two programs at once? Then again, given that JMU and Tulane are underdogs by 21 and 17.5 points, respectively, is it really going to matter?
5: The number of key defensive statistical categories where Oklahoma ranks ninth or better nationally. The Sooners place fifth against the run (81.4 yards per game), seventh in scoring defense (13.7 points per game), and ninth in total yardage allowed (273.6). Oklahoma also leads the entire FBS in tackles for loss per game (9.6) and shares the national lead in sacks (3.42 per game). If the cliche that defense wins championships holds true, Oklahoma should have the upper hand against Alabama tonight.
102,733: The total seating capacity of Kyle Field, the home stadium for Texas A&M football. That will be the biggest crowd of the four home sites this weekend in the CFP, and tickets — as well as hotels — have been in high demand. Why not? This meeting with Miami is a historic game for the Aggies and also the best of the four matchups in the opening round, which includes two rematches (yawn) and the aforementioned James Madison-Oregon game. A&M lost some steam nationally with that loss to Texas in the regular-season finale but the Aggies’ entire body of work still stands as one of the best in the country. A quarterfinal between Ohio State and A&M would be big-time.