Staff Picks: First round of College Football Playoff, plus pre-Christmas bowl games
South Carolina’s season may be long over, but the college football season is still chugging along with some of its biggest games of the year on deck.
The first round of the College Football Playoff will take place this weekend, starting on Friday night with Alabama traveling to Oklahoma, and then carries into Saturday with three more games.
The full slate of CFP matchups for this weekend includes:
Alabama at Oklahoma (Friday at 8 p.m. on ABC/ESPN)
Miami at Texas A&M (Saturday at noon on ABC/ESPN)
Tulane at Ole Miss (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on TNT/HBO Max/Tru TV)
James Madison at Oregon (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. on TNT/HBO Max/Tru TV)
Not to mention, bowl season is in full swing with a few games already played, with more on the way before Christmas Day next week.
Here’s how the GamecockCentral and 107.5 The Game staff sees these various games going.
| Memphis vs. NC State (Gasparilla Bowl) | Alabama at Oklahoma (CFP, First Round) | Miami (FL) at Texas A&M (CFP, First Round) | Tulane at Ole Miss (CFP, First Round) | James Madison at Oregon (CFP, First Round) | Washington State vs. Utah State (Idaho Potato Bowl) | Toledo vs. Louisville (Boca Raton Bowl) | Western Kentucky vs. Southern Miss (New Orleans Bowl) | UNLV vs. Ohio (Frisco Bowl) | California vs. Hawaii (Hawaii Bowl) | |
| George Bagwell (97-61) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Elijah Campbell (101-57) | Memphis | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Toledo | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Chris Clark (103-55) | Memphis | Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | California |
| Terry Ford (94-64) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Griffin Goodwyn (108-50) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Tyler Head (97-61) | Memphis | Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | California |
| Mingo Martin (99-59) | NC State | Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Tulane | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | California |
| Kevin Miller (103-55) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Wes Mitchell (108-50) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | California |
| Jay Philips (101-57) | Memphis | Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Southern Miss | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Kendall Smith (104-54) | NC State | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | California |
| Mike Uva (103-55) | Memphis | Alabama | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | James Madison | Washington State | Louisville | Western Kentucky | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Jack Veltri (97-61) | NC State | Alabama | Miami (FL) | Ole Miss | Oregon | Utah State | Louisville | Southern Miss | UNLV | Hawaii |
| Chris Wellbaum (100-58) | Memphis | Oklahoma | Texas A&M | Ole Miss | Oregon | Washington State | Louisville | Southern Miss | UNLV | Hawaii |