FOX studio analyst and former Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn lays out his final four and picks his title favorite with The Post’s Justin Terranova.
Q: Can North Carolina upset Clemson and throw the playoff into chaos?
A: I don’t know about a decent shot, but they’ve got a shot. North Carolina played in a very weak division of the ACC, so I don’t think it’ll be that big of a challenge for Clemson unless they absolutely come out and fall flat on their face. I understand the defense is improved for North Carolina, but if you look at them overall, they are in the bottom half of college football even with those improvements.
Q: Do you feel same way about Iowa? Are they a product of a weak schedule?
A: You can kind of make that case, but the Big Ten is so much tougher top to bottom. Still, Michigan State has the talent edge over Iowa. Connor Cook is too good at quarterback when you put him against C.J. Beathard. Michigan State’s defensive front controlled that whole game against Ohio State, and I’d expect it to be much the same against Iowa.
Q: Whom do you see as the favorite heading into the playoffs?
A: History tells us that Nick Saban is a force to be reckoned with, but I really like the combination of Oklahoma’s talent and the matchup challenges they present. Defensively, they have a stout front led by Charles Tapper and are pretty solid in the secondary. The questions I have are with the relatively inexperienced offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley and if Baker Mayfield’s creativity and escapability will work against defenses like Alabama and Iowa or Michigan State. He lacks the proper discipline of going through his reads and progressions.
Q: Has Bob Stoops been unfairly criticized in recent seasons?
A: You see it with Stoops, Les Miles and Mark Richt — no one has any patience anymore; you can’t go through a 9-3 season. It wasn’t like the other teams in the Big 12 weren’t going to catch up eventually to Oklahoma. It’s so odd to me when you look at such a track record of success and people are questioning him.
Q: Despite the rough ending, are you still happy with Brian Kelly at Notre Dame?
A: It’s amazing how close they came to being undefeated with brutal losses to Stanford and Clemson. They really played well, especially through all the injuries. And in the end it was just too many injuries. The problem is they are losing a number of special players for next year.