The field of 12 teams has shrunken to 8 as the opening round of the College Football Playoff is now in the books. What could've been an incredible weekend for the sport was left in a grey area as the two Group of 5 programs kept the weekend from being nearly as exciting as it should be. Now that the Playoff is down to the best 8 teams, the real fun gets to begin.
This weekend, Miami and Alabama picked up wins in the two biggest games, showing everyone what they're capable of the rest of the way. Ole Miss and Oregon handled much lesser opponents, but they also gave everyone a little more information about who they are.
These 10 takeaways defined the opening round of the Playoff
Rueben Bain Jr is the best defensive player in the Playoff
While Ohio State has two defensive stars in Arvell Reese and Caleb Downs and Texas Tech has David Bailey, Rueben Bain Jr is the best defensive playmaker in the field. Miami's defense shutdown Texas A&M's offense in large part thanks to the performance of Rueben Bain Jr. Early on, Bain took 3 points off the board with a massive, blocked field goal.
Rueben Bain blocks the field goal! pic.twitter.com/xg1UZMcNSE
— Unnecessary Roughness (@UnnecRoughness) December 20, 2025
Bain was the definition of a game wrecker, adding 3 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, and 5 tackles in the game as he had Marcel Reed under duress the entire game. Miami's defense is going to need to be the driving force for this team if they're going to upset Ohio State, and with Bain, they'll have a great chance.
Home College Football Playoff games are the best addition to the sport
While the games this weekend weren't the greatest, the atmosphere at each location was truly incredible. The past two seasons have proven that College Football Playoff games on campus are a great addition to the sport, as it's far better than any environment for a bowl game than at any neutral site.