It’s Christmas, and while I’m not Santa Claus, that will not stop me from making a list and checking it twice, all to find out who’s naughty or nice.
Eight teams remain in the College Football Playoff, and none are perfect. As far as fans are concerned, that’s a good thing. It leads to more uncertainty about how the final three rounds will play out, which is what every college football fan should want.
So think of this naughty and nice list as a way of describing why teams could win it all or what could cause them to come up short in their goal of winning the national championship.
Nice: Balanced offense
Oregon is good at everything and can beat you in multiple ways. It runs the ball on 51.5% of its plays, which ranks 65th nationally but only sixth among the eight remaining teams (a reminder to run the dang ball). What matters more than how often the Ducks run is how effective they are at it. The offense ranks ninth nationally in EPA per dropback and 17th in EPA per rush. Even more impressive, they’re seventh in passing success rate and fourth in rushing success rate. As a whole, this offense isn’t super explosive, but it’s just so good at staying ahead of schedule and doing it on the ground and in the air.
Naughty: The front seven
Listen, Oregon’s front seven, compared to almost every other team in the country, is phenomenal. However, compared to some of its playoff brethren, this isn’t an elite unit. While the overall numbers are outstanding, there are legitimate concerns. On the season, Oregon’s defense is…
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