College Football Playoff: Greg McElroy stresses the importance of home field advantage for first round games

The second edition of the 12-team College Football Playoff kicks off Friday night in Norman. No. 8 Oklahoma, facing No. 9 Alabama, is one of four programs hosting a CFP First Round game this season. Also hosting is No. 5 Oregon vs. No. 12 James Madison, No. 6 Ole Miss vs. No. 11 Tulane, and No. 7 Texas A&M vs. No. 10 Miami.

In the first year of First Round home games in the College Football Playoff last season, all four home teams came out with wins. Neither of those games was particularly close, as the average margin of victory for the home teams was 19.25 points. No. 7 Notre Dame‘s 27-17 victory over No. 10 Indiana was the closest game, and the Hoosiers scored 14 of their 17 points in the final quarter.

During an appearance on Friday morning’s edition of ‘Get Up‘ ESPN’s Greg McElroy addressed the edge of playing at home. McElroy stressed the importance of home field advantage for these first round matchups.

“I think it’s a tremendous advantage for the defenses,” McElroy said. “No doubt about it, it’s hard to communicate on offense. But here’s the thing I don’t think enough people talk about… sometimes, especially when you’re expected to win, playing at home can be a little challenging. If all of a sudden you’re in a dogfight or you get off to a slow start, you can sense, as a player on the sideline, the crowd getting a bit restless. That might lead to you pressing a little bit. So, if you are a home team, it is imperative to start fast.”

Greg McElroy: ‘The road teams really have a fighting chance’

“The longer the game goes and the tighter the game gets, that’s when the advantage can potentially start to work its way to the other sideline,” McElroy continued. “We didn’t see it last year because the matchups were so heavily tilted in favor of the home team. This year’s matchups, the road teams really have a fighting chance, especially the games involving Power-Four competition (Alabama/Oklahoma and Miami/Texas A&M).”

Two of the four First Round matchups are rematches of games that took place in the regular season. Back on Sept. 20, No. 13 Ole Miss destroyed Tulane 45-10 in Oxford. Lane Kiffin was still coaching the program at that point, but the SEC talent and crowd of 65,644 Rebel fans were too much for the Green Wave to overcome.

While Friday night’s First Round matchup between No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 9 Alabama is in Norman, the programs met in Tuscaloosa on Nov. 15. The Sooners escaped with the 23-21 win, handing Kalen DeBoer his first loss as Alabama‘s head coach. Last season, the Crimson Tide were dominated 24-3 by Oklahoma in Norman, meaning DeBoer and his staff have experienced a blowout loss on the road against the Sooners in recent history.