Few expected Ole Miss or Miami to be alive in the College Football Playoff bracket, especially considering our CFP Bracket Challenge matchup data.
When you don’t. With 87 percent of fans predicting No. 6 Ole Miss to win a rematch with American Conference champion Tulane, fans weren’t so sure about the Rebels’ quarterfinal game.
After defeating Tulane 41-10, Ole Miss faced off again, this time against eventual SEC champion Georgia. We fans — yes, I’m including myself here — picked the Bulldogs to sweep the Rebels in the season series by nearly 86 percent.
So much for that. Ole Miss proved us wrong by winning the Sugar Bowl 39-34 and advancing to the College Football Playoff semifinals.
Then there is none. 10 seed Miami. The Hurricanes were the last team to receive an at-large playoff bid after finishing 10-2 and missing the ACC Championship game.
After Miami took the field, it had to visit Texas A&M in College Station, a one-loss team that almost 70 percent of fans picked to win. The Hurricanes pulled off the upset with a 10-3 defensive battle.
Next, Miami was scheduled to play the defending champion Ohio State Buckeyes. In the quarterfinals, fans had little faith in the Hurricanes; Almost 80 percent of fans picked the Buckeyes to beat the Hurricanes.
Instead, Miami got its second touchdown of the tournament and advanced to the CFP semifinals with a 24-14 win over Ohio State.
So who will the fans choose in this fight?
The Hurricanes won 54 percent of the time when fans correctly predicted the Miami-Ole Miss semifinal.
Miami is the fan favorite for the first time in the entire tournament. Will the Hurricanes win? Or will Ole Miss break Miami’s shot at a national championship in its own stadium?
Breaking a perfect College Football Playoff shutout after reaching the quarterfinals
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