Oregon playoff opponent gains clarity as Green Wave pummel North Texas

The College Football Playoff Committee meets Sunday to determine the final bracket, but Friday night's Group of Six Championships winnowed out the field.

Upsets today could shuffle the bracket, but unless chaos ensues (it often does) No. 4 Oregon will settle in at No. 5 and host Tulane in Autzen Stadium on December 19 or 20. The TV schedules haven't been worked out yet.

The No. 20 Green Wave earned their spot by rolling out to a 24-7 halftime lead over North Texas and hanging on to win the American Conference title in New Orleans.

They played with a lot of purpose, especially since their coach Jon Sumrall is moving on to Florida next season. He's staying with the team through the playoff.

They employ a multiple offense that lines up in the Pistol, spreads out wide employing quick little receivers or bunches in tight to smash opponents in the mouth. Sometimes quarterback Jake Retzlaff slides down the line of scrimmage like an option quarterback. On other plays he takes a Shotgun snap and runs an RPO.

Green Wave rolls to scrappy win in the Big Easy

They ran for 199 yards against the Mean Green, with three touchdowns. Retzlaff, the quarterback thrown out of BYU for having sex, ran for a pair of scores.

The defense is swarming and physical. Friday night they got after NT gunslinger Drew Mestemaker, who lost his star running back Caleb Hawkins to a hard hit in the first half. Sacked five times and intercepted three, Mestemaker led a furious comeback after a Pick Six gave the home squad a 31-7 lead in the third quarter.

Upsets today could move Oregon anywhere from No. 4 to No. 7, and the committee will have all kinds of doublespeak to explain why Notre Dame is ahead of Miami, or Texas didn't make it. The games to watch (or at least check the phone for) are No. 4 Texas Tech vs No. 11 BYU, the Big 12 Championship, and SEC juggernauts No. 3 Georgia versus No. 9 Alabama in Atlanta.

Underdogs by 12.5, a win probably means the Big 12 gets two teams in, while in the ACC, if 7-5 Duke upsets Virginia, the ACC might not get a playoff spot, although Mario Cristobal and Miami could make the field with help. They're currently on the bubble at 12, in danger of being bumped by Sun Belt Champion James Madison.

If Bama dumps the Bulldogs a second time (they edged them 24-21 in Athens back in September.) they could move ahead of Oregon as a conference champion, while Georgia won't drop far. That could set up a bracket where the top four is Big Ten, Big Ten, SEC, SEC, with Texas Tech moving to No. 5.

Oregon is not likely to match their AP/Coaches Poll ranking of four and slip into a bye. Duck fans should want that home playoff game, a chance to build momentum. With an Alabama loss, it's unclear what the committee will do with a 10-3 Tide team, picking up a third loss in the conference championship, which they've claimed in the past isn't supposed to be penalizing.

Bama claims wins this season over Georgia, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Tennessee, all ranked in the Top 25 at the time of the game.

Either way, the playoff bracket will intensify the hue and cry for a 16- or 24-team playoff, with "deserving teams" like the Commodores, Longhorns, Canes and Utes left at home.

For right now, Oregon is in and playing at home to celebrate the winter solstice. Their opponent could be Tulane, which looks likely. If they slip to No. 7 in this convoluted calculus of resumes or strength of record, they could host a dangerous opponent like Alabama, Miami or Notre Dame. It gets crazy at the end.