Days before the start of the College Football Playoff, the bracket is almost as remarkable for who’s not in — perennial power Alabama, reigning national champ Michigan — as who is. More teams and more games mean more opportunities for upsets. Since there are “only” 12 teams in this bracket, there’s not really room for Cinderella at this particular Big Dance … but that’s not to say there won’t be chaos.
Sure, the lines on all four of the first-round games favor the higher-seed home teams by at least a touchdown. But as Vanderbilt, Northern Illinois, Georgia Tech and many others demonstrated this season, the line is just a number.