Staff Picks: College Football Playoff opening round and FCS semifinal matchups
South Carolina won’t play again for another 11 days when it takes on Illinois in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Eve. Until then, there are some pretty good college football games going on this weekend.
The opening round of the College Football Playoff kicks off on Friday with four games being played at home venues of the higher seeds. There are also some early bowl games being played as well as the FCS semifinals.
The GamecockCentral and 107.5 The Game staffs shared their picks for all these matchups going on around the country.
[GamecockCentral: Subscribe for $1 for 7 days]
| Ohio vs. Jacksonville State (Cure Bowl) | Tulane vs. Florida (Gasparilla Bowl) | Indiana at Notre Dame (CFP) | SMU at Penn State (CFP) | South Dakota State at North Dakota State (FCS semis) | South Dakota at Montana State (FCS semis) | Clemson at Texas (CFP) | Tennessee at Ohio State (CFP) | |
| George Bagwell (73-62) | Ohio | Tulane | Indiana | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Peyton Butt (72-63) | Jacksonville State | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Elijah Campbell (88-47) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Tennessee |
| Chris Clark (75-60) | Jacksonville State | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Terry Ford (95-40) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Tennessee |
| Griffin Goodwyn (93-42) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Tyler Head (80-55) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Tennessee |
| Wes Mitchell (87-48) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Clemson | Tennessee |
| Jay Philips (89-46) | Jacksonville State | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Tennessee |
| Kendall Smith (79-56) | Jacksonville State | Florida | Indiana | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Mike Uva (87-48) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Jack Veltri (93-42) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Clemson | Tennessee |
| Chris Wellbaum (74-61) | Ohio | Tulane | Notre Dame | Penn State | South Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
| Kevin Miller (63-27) | Ohio | Florida | Notre Dame | Penn State | North Dakota State | Montana State | Texas | Ohio State |
