Here we rely on bracket dynamics. When we see amazing surprises and Cinderella stories in one round of a tournament, order is usually restored and results are poor in the next. And if we start with extreme chalk, like we did in the first round of the College Football Playoff, we get some exciting, close heavyweight matchups in the next round.

Or maybe we get the best of both worlds? The first-ever CFP quarterfinals begin with another pair of potential underdogs: Boise State (vs. Penn State) and Arizona State (vs. Texas) making their playoff debuts. But we follow with two games with evenly matched opponents: Ohio State and Oregon meet in a rematch of a one-point regular-season matchup, then Georgia and Notre Dame meet for the fourth time. The first three matches were decided by a total of 14 points and this one has a difference of 2 points.

The first round may have been intense, but trust the momentum of the brackets. Here’s everything you need to know about the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.

Jump to a section:
Playoff predictions
Boise State-Penn State
Arizona State-Texas
Oregon-Ohio State
Georgia-Notre Dame
Biggest games for each team