How Each College Football Playoff Team Can Win The National Championship

Justin looks at the College Football Playoff teams and what the teams need to do to win the NCAA championship. What players need to step up to win the CFP?

Eight teams remain in the hunt for the national championship as we head into the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. Soon, one of those teams will claim the first title of the expanded playoff era.

But you don't just wake up one morning as champions. You have to earn it. Each of these teams has certain things that make them very good football teams, and the teams have to lean on those things in order to capture the title.

Here's what each team needs to do to win the FBS national championship.

Arizona State

Let Cam Skattebo cook...and get solid play from Sam Leavitt

Arizona State would be the most surprising champion this year, but that doesn't mean the Sun Devils aren't capable of coming away with the title.

If they're going to pull off three upset wins in a row, the team is going to need running back Cam Skattebo to go off. Since the start of Big 12 play, Skattebo has failed to hit the 100-yard mark three times. Arizona State lost two of those games.

The Sun Devils can win the title, but it's going to require Skattebo to hit another level. The team is 6-0 when he rushes for at least 150 yards, but that's one of those stats that comes with the obvious caveat that teams run more when they're ahead.

That's where quarterback Sam Leavitt comes in. Leavitt missed the loss to Cincinnati, so the only game he lost was the game against Texas Tech, which was one of just two games where he failed to throw a touchdown pass. Leavitt needs to be sharp early in games, allowing ASU to get in front and then turn things over to Skattebo.

Boise State

Let Ashton Jeanty cook...and get solid play from Maddux Madsen

Yep, Boise State's path to the title requires the same thing that Arizona State's does, which is hoping their elite running back can go wild in the playoffs while the quarterback avoids mistakes.

In Boise State's case, this path is a little easier to see happen simply because Ashton Jeanty is one of the best college running backs we've ever seen. He currently has 2,497 rushing yards, fourth on the single-season list. He has a very realistic shot to pass Barry Sanders in the playoff opener.

Ashton Jeanty and Boise State are ready to prove the doubters wrong 😤

📺 Tuesday on ESPN pic.twitter.com/Mg9RGDhpqu

— ESPN (@espn) December 30, 2024

As for quarterback Maddux Madsen, Boise doesn't need him to do a ton. Over the last five games, Madsen has just five total touchdown passes, but he's been picked off just once in that span. Avoid mistakes and let Jeanty show the world why all the hype around him is earned.

Georgia

Gunner Stockton proves he's the real deal

Seven of the remaining playoff teams know who they are. One doesn't, because an injury to its quarterback has forced a huge change heading into the postseason. That team is Georgia, which will be starting Gunner Stockton in the postseason.

This is a very good Georgia football team that was capable of beating any team in the country with Carson Beck under center, but his elbow injury has opened up a lot of questions for the Bulldogs on offense. Can Stockton do what Beck could?

Stockton leading Georgia to a title would be a great story, as he was an all-state player in Georgia all four years in high school and capped his collegiate career off with the Gatorade Georgia Player of the Year award. He's barely played in college and isn't as skilled as Beck, but he's a gamer. Don't count Georgia out.

Notre Dame

Defense wins championships

If we were going just by the numbers, Notre Dame might be the title favorite, as the team ranks fourth in points per game and third in opponent points per game.

The Riley Leonard-led offense might not be quite as good as that number implies, but the defense might be. Only two teams scored 20 or more points against Notre Dame this season, as the team gave up 24 to Louisville and then a shocking 35 points to USC.

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame arrived in New Orleans this afternoon ahead of their @SugarBowlNola clash with Georgia.

Here's a look: pic.twitter.com/QMHjbEHA9j

— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 30, 2024

But aside from that, Notre Dame has held opposing offenses in check. They held both Army and Navy to 14 points. Allowed a combined 17 points between the Purdue, Stanford, and Florida State games.

If the defense is for real and holds up as the matchups get tougher and tougher, Marcus Freeman could deliver ND its first title since 1988.

Ohio State

Trust the passing game.

Will Howard might have some turnover issues, but Ohio State has to trust him and his weapons in the postseason.

Howard, who joined the Buckeyes this year after four seasons at Kansas State, led the Big Ten with 29 touchdown passes this year while completing 73.2% of his pass attempts. Howard doesn't get talked about enough as a top college quarterback.

He threw for 311 yards against Tennessee in the first round, his second-highest total of the season. With Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith at wide receiver and a star-studded backfield that features two backs with some passing chops, Ohio State might have the most dangerous passing attack in the playoffs.

Oregon

Stay the course

There's only one undefeated team left in the country. To win the championship, that team just needs to keep being itself.

Oregon has already got three wins over current playoff teams, including handing Boise State its only loss of the season. All three games have been close, but the Ducks have come out on top.

Dillon Gabriel needs to keep making positive plays on offense. The defense needs to keep forcing turnovers. Oregon just needs to play Oregon football.

Penn State

Drew Allar steps up

I think Penn State has the defense to win a championship, but do they have the offense? That will all depend on the play of quarterback Drew Allar.

Allar has been inconsistent over the last two years, but he's capable of some very high highs, like his four touchdown passes against a very good Iowa defense in 2023 or his four total touchdowns in a close loss to Oregon in the Big Ten title game.

But he's also capable of some stinkers. Allar failed to throw a touchdown in a loss to Ohio State earlier this season. A game like that will knock the Nittany Lions out of the playoffs, but if Allar can play mistake-free football, Penn State has a shot.

Texas

Quinn Ewers finally lives up to all the expectations

Look, I'm not saying Quinn Ewers is a bad quarterback. I'd say he's a very good one! But the former No. 1 overall recruit hasn't been the best quarterback in football like some might have expected when he initially enrolled at Ohio State in 2021.

A healthy Ewers can beat anyone, but he's got to rein in the turnovers. He's thrown 10 picks this season, including four over the past three games and two in the team's loss to Georgia.

Texas has a very good run game, but at some point, in a championship run, the team will have to ask Ewers to deliver big things. The Horns' title chances depend on whether or not Ewers can answer what he's asked to do.

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