College Football Playoff Semifinals Preview and Predictions

THURSDAY

(#10)Miami vs. (#6)Ole Miss
Fiesta Bowl
7:30 p.m., ESPN

It came as a surprise that both of these teams are still alive in the semis, with Miami knocking off #2 Ohio State and Ole Miss stunning #3 Georgia. Now one of them is a victory away from playing for the national championship.

Miami proved they have a top-tier line on both sides of ball against Ohio State, creating heavy pressure on Julian Sayin and maintaining clock-eating drives against the #1 ranked Buckeyes defense. Pair that with extreme speed at the skill positions, and Miami should have the advantage in this match-up. They are fully capable of controlling both lines of scrimmage while sprinkling in explosive plays from the likes of star freshman Malachi Toney.

However, it won’t be that easy against an Ole Miss team that is playing their best football of the season by rallying around one another following the departure of Lane Kiffin. Trinidad Chambliss is coming off one of the finest performances in playoff history, including a stretch where he completed 13 straight passes to help lead the thrilling comeback victory over Georgia. They also have a healthy Kewan Lacy, who ran all over the ‘Dawgs talented front seven for two scores and 11o total yards. Former Penn State receiver Trey Wallace is also coming off a career-high 156 receiving yards on nine catches, proving that he can get open with the right offense and quarterback.

Miami has been inconsistent under Mario Cristobal, but are coming off victories over the teams that finished the regular season at #3 and #2 to get to this point. Can the ‘Canes continue to play to their potential? And can Chambliss continue playing at a high level and carrying the Ole Miss offense? Those two answers will go a long way in determining who advances from this one.
Prediction: Ole Miss-28, Miami-27

FRIDAY

(#5)Oregon vs. (#1)Indiana
Peach Bowl
7:30 p.m., ESPN

This is the fourth regular season rematch of the playoffs, with Indiana taking down the Ducks 30-20 on the road. It wasn’t necessarily a terrific performance by the Hoosiers either, with several unnecessary penalties and a rare pick-six thrown by Fernando Mendoza. So does Oregon have a chance at a neutral site? They very well could, considering the improvement from the start to the end of the season. The Ducks relied on many talented yet inexperienced heading into 2025, so they are a much different team when they met in early October (for reference, this game occurred during James Franklin’s last game at Penn State, which now feels like years ago).

This game also features a quarterback duel between the likely #1 and #2 overall picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. While Dante Moore has lived up to his five-star hype in his first year as a starter, Fernando Mendoza seems to be on a whole different level than any other quarterback in the nation. The Heisman winner has been near-perfect in diagnosing defenses, finding the open man and placing the ball exactly where it needs to be. It also helps that every Hoosiers receiver makes regular circus catches and has a seemingly unlimited catch radius.

Oregon has perhaps the most overall talented roster in the nation, so there are plenty of exceptional athletes who can be difference-makers in a game like this. However, the two things the Ducks struggle with the most are running the ball and stopping the run. That could be their downfall in a rematch with an Indiana squad that has been playing at an incredibly high level as of late.
Prediction: Indiana-31, Oregon-23