And then there were eight.
The College Football Playoff is officially at its quarterfinal stage, with Oregon’s 51-34 victory against James Madison on Saturday night wrapping up a run of four first-round games over a 24-hour stretch.
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As was the case last year with the debut of the 12-team playoff format, the first round delivered plenty of anticipation, but not a whole lot of drama. Oregon raced out to a 28-point halftime lead on its way to a 17-point win. Ole Miss throttled Tulane 41-10 in its much-hyped first game since Lane Kiffin’s sloppy departure to LSU.
In probably the most exciting game of the quartet, Alabama overcame a 17-0 second-quarter deficit to beat Oklahoma 34-24. And in a game with a combined four missed field goals on a brutally windy day, Miami knocked off Texas A&M 10-3.
