Texas Football: Primer for the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinals

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ATLANTA, GA – December 6: The National Championship trophy is displayed prior to the College Football Playoff Semifinal Head Coaches News Conference on December 6, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /

What can we expect for a full slate of bowl action on Dec. 29, including the two 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal games?

While Texas football won’t be participating in the College Football Playoff Semifinals this year, it does have some stakes to relevance in the teams that are in the four team field. The College Football Playoff this year features three undefeated teams for the first time since it was first instituted back in 2014.

Moreover, the College Football Playoff still has a lot of firsts to experience since it has only been around since the 2014 season. In its first year, head coach Urban Meyer and the Ohio State Buckeyes downed the Alabama Crimson Tide and Oregon Ducks on the way to winning the first College Football Playoff National Championship.

Since its first year, the College Football Playoff featured a mostly consistent field of teams. Alabama made the four-team Playoff field in all five years of its existence now. The Clemson Tigers are the other dominant team during the Playoff-era, since it has four appearances.

The only team from the Big 12 to make it into the Playoff field is the Oklahoma Sooners. Texas football was in the running for a Playoff spot through a portion of the 2018 regular season, but that didn’t last too long. The TCU Horned Frogs, Baylor Bears, and Oklahoma State Cowboys have all also been close to getting into the Playoff since it first started.

This set of four teams for the 2018 Playoff Semifinal games feature three conference winners and three undefeated teams. We still have yet to see a College Football Playoff field that features a two-loss conference champion or a Group of Five team. The Auburn Tigers, last year, and the UCF Knights, for the past two seasons, were the only teams that were close to accomplishing any of those feats.

Here’s a look at the official primer for the 2018 College Football Playoff Semifinal games on Dec. 29, from the perspective or relevance to the Texas Longhorns football program.

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