Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (Playoff #1): Florida State vs. USC
Where: Rose Bowl Stadium (Pasadena, Calif.)
When: Jan. 1, 2018, at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
The first playoff game of the new year gives us as flashback to the first ever playoff back in 2015. It was Florida State, the then reigning and defending national champion facing off against the Pac-12 champion in Oregon. Only this time it’s USC instead of the Ducks from Eugene.
The special thing about the playoff is that you’d get a southern based team like FSU out on the west coast and they’d done some great things there before, remember the 2014 BCS title game? A USC appearance would be the second straight appearance for the Trojans and they’ve also been successful here, winning a record 25 Rose Bowls.
Path to the Rose Bowl: If you win your conference, then it’s pretty simple: you’ll end up in the Rose Bowl. If possible, the committee may will try to keep teams as close to home as possible. If USC is ranked No. 2 or even No.1 then it will stay out west. If not, then they could be headed to the Sugar Bowl. If we see a Big Ten or Pac-12 team at No. 1 or No. 2, then they will go out west for traditional purposes.
Teams to watch for: Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Washington, Stanford, UCLA, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State