Ole Miss routs Tulane to advance in College Football Playoff, joining Miami in quarterfinals

By Kevin Dotson, CNN

(CNN) — Saturday features a trio of College Football Playoff (CFP) first round matchups.

Ole Miss dispatches Tulane

The No. 6 seed Ole Miss Rebels made light work of the No. 11 seed Tulane Green Wave at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Mississippi, riding roughshod over the American Conference champions by a score of 41-10.

Despite losing their head coach Lane Kiffin, who left Oxford for the LSU head coaching job after the Rebels’ most successful season in more than 60 years, the dynamic Ole Miss offense didn’t seem to miss a beat on Saturday under new coach Pete Golding.

The Rebels piled up nearly 500 yards of offense in the game. Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss threw for 282 yards and a touchdown and ran for two more scores in the resounding victory. The Rebels defense forced three Tulane turnoevers.

The road will get much harder for Ole Miss as they advance to the quarterfinals and a matchup against the No. 3 seed Georgia Bulldogs, who defeated the Rebels in the regular season. The SEC rivals will clash on New Year’s Day in the Sugar Bowl.

In Saturday’s nightcap, No. 5 seed Oregon hosts No. 12 seed James Madison at 7:30 p.m. ET in Eugene, Oregon. The winner will face No. 4 seed Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Miami stuns Texas A&M

The first game of the day saw the No. 7 seed Texas A&M Aggies hosting the No. 10 seed Miami Hurricanes, who made waves as the last at-large team selected into the field by the CFP committee, edging out a disappointed Notre Dame team that opted out of playing in a bowl game after the snub.

The Aggies and Canes played a scoreless, and mostly uneventful, first half in College Station, Texas. It was the first time in history that a CFP game reached halftime without a point being scored since the playoff began in 2014.

Gusty winds played havoc with both team’s kickers at Kyle Field, as Miami’s Carter Davis and A&M’s Jared Zirkel combined for four missed field goals in the game. Davis finally knocked one through on the Hurricanes’ opening drive of the second half for the first points of the afternoon, then the Aggies tied it 3-3 after switching to kicker Randy Bond.

Miami was first to find the end zone when quarterback Carson Beck pitched the ball to wide receiver Malachi Toney on an end around, and Toney sprinted down the sideline for an 11-yard touchdown with less than two minutes to go in the game.

A&M quickly moved the ball downfield in search of a game-tying touchdown, reaching the Miami five-yard line. Aggies quarterback Marcel Reed nearly connected with running back Rueben Owens II for a TD, but the reception was broken up by Mohamed Toure in a huge collision. After initially laying motionless on the field surrounded by medical staff, Toure eventually trotted off the field under his own power.

On the next play, Reed’s pass was picked off by Bryce Fitzgerald – his second interception of the game – to seal the 10-3 win for the Hurricanes. Miami advances to the quarterfinals and will face the No. 2 seed Ohio State Buckeyes on December 31 in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Arlington, Texas.

Alabama rallies to the Rose Bowl

The CFP started Friday night as the No. 9 seed Alabama Crimson Tide traveled to Norman, Oklahoma, to face the No. 8 seed Oklahoma Sooners in a battle of SEC foes.

Oklahoma sprinted out to a 17-0 lead midway through the second quarter, but then the Crimson Tide caught fire.

A diving, spinning touchdown from Lotzeir Brooks on a fourth down pass from Ty Simpson, a blocked punt by Tim Keenan III and a interception return for touchdown by Zabien Brown fully swing the momentum in Alabama’s favor as the game reached haltime tied at 17.

Alabama racked up 27 unanswered points thanks in part to another touchdown strike from Simpson to Brooks. Oklahoma answered quickly, as Sooners’ quarterback John Mateer connected with Deion Burks for a 37-yard TD to cut the Tide’s lead to 27-24.

But Alabama put the game away with a 6-yard touchdown run from Daniel Hill to set a quarterfinal date in Pasadena with the top-seeded Indiana Hoosiers on New Year’s Day in the Rose Bowl.

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