The College Football Playoff semifinals are chock-full of storylines

The first-ever College Football Playoff quarterfinals wrapped up Thursday night, as the Notre Dame Fighting Irish beat the Georgia Bulldogs 23-10 in the Sugar Bowl. The Irish victory sets up a semifinal with no top-four seeds and one with some pretty interesting storylines. Let's take a look at some of them.

Will the committee switch up its format?

The 12-team playoff's current format includes automatic byes to the quarterfinals for the top four conference champions no matter where they're ranked, which resulted in No. 9 Boise State being seeded third and No. 12 Arizona State being seeded fourth. While the Sun Devils put up a fight against Texas and was the closest a top four team to making the semis, they joined the rest of their fellow conference champions in elimination.

Under the current format, the one seed finds itself at a disadvantage. In the event that the top four conference champions aren't the top four teams in the rankings, the better teams get pushed down in the seeding. The Ohio State Buckeyes, who many considered one of the best teams in the country, were ranked sixth but seeded eighth, giving No. 1 Oregon a tougher matchup in the quarterfinals. In a 1-12 seeded playoff where conference champions are guaranteed a bid and not a top-four seed, Oregon would have played the winner of Indiana-Boise State.

According to Action Network's Brett McMurphy, conversations about changing the format will be held.

There will be “in-depth discussions” about not guaranteeing conference champs top 4 @CFBPlayoff seeds in 2025, sources said. Top 5 conference champs still get in but rankings determine seeds. How this year’s playoff would have looked in that format ⤵️https://t.co/MVhukO8BlV pic.twitter.com/2KKUSgtT0D
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) December 30, 2024

Will James Franklin shed his 'big game loser' reputation?

Penn State head coach James Franklin is now 2-0 in the College Football Playoff after Penn State knocked off SMU in the first round and Boise State in the quarterfinals. That's two wins over top-10 teams, which improves his record against top-10 teams to 5-19 at Penn State. He's 1-15, however, against top-five teams, and Notre Dame, whom the Nittany Lions are playing in the Orange Bowl, is ranked fifth in the country (seeded at seven). In Penn State's 16 games against top-five opponents under Franklin, they've averaged 18.9 points per game and have a -18 turnover differential. The two teams haven't played since 2007 and Franklin is looking to make a statement by securing another win in the playoff.

Ryan Day has Ohio State playing its best football

After being embarrassed on their home field by Michigan and calls grew for head coach Ryan Day to be fired, Day has Ohio State playing the best football in the country. In their two CFP games, Ohio State is averaging 41.5 points and have as many touchdowns as punts. Freshman Jeremiah Smith looks like the best wide receiver in the country, totaling 290 yards on 13 receptions and four touchdowns in the Buckeyes' two playoff games. The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents 83-38 and have allowed zero first-quarter points.

Texas looks the most vulnerable

After losing a top-four seed to the Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship, Texas was given the fifth seed, a supposed easy path to the semifinals through Clemson and then Arizona State. While Texas beat Clemson by 14 points, the game was slightly closer than the final score indicates. Clemson was within seven in the fourth quarter. During the quarterfinals, Texas led 24-8 in the fourth quarter, but Arizona State fought back, scoring two touchdowns in 1:31 of game time. Sun Devils running back Cam Skattebo threw a 42-yard touchdown on fourth-and-two and then ran in a touchdown after Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers threw an interception.

Texas had two chances to win the game in regulation on a 48 and 38-yard field goal, but kicker Bert Auburn missed both, the latter doinking off the left upright. Texas then found themselves down seven in overtime, facing a fourth-and-13, but with the game on the line, Ewers clutched up. He found Matthew Golden behind the defense in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown and the Longhorns won the game in double-overtime.

"Texas must convert 4th-and-13... TO STAY ALIVE! CAN THEY HOOK 'EM?! TOUCHDOWN, MATTHEW GOLDEN!" - Joe Tessitore 🏈🎙️ #CFP pic.twitter.com/a38XeAakMx
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 1, 2025

Their reward? Ohio State, who looks like the best football team in the country right now.

The semifinal matchups will be played on January 9 and 10. Notre Dame-Penn State will kickoff at 7:30 on the ninth in the Capital One Orange Bowl, while Texas-Ohio State will kickoff 24 hours later at the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. The winners will meet on January 20 in the National Championship.