WEEK 2: SEPT. 4 - 6

ORANGE BOWL COMMITTEE Playoff Officers

First Year of the - Beginning this season FBS college football will enter a new four- President & Chair...... Luis E. Boué team playoff era. The best four teams, as determined by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, will Chair-Elect...... Lee E. Stapleton face off in two College Football Playoff Semifinals played in bowl games. The bowl games that will serve as the Vice Chair...... Michael B. Chavies semifinals will rotate annually between the Sugar, Rose, Orange, Cotton, Peach and Fiesta bowl with the Sugar Vice Chair...... Don Slesnick Bowl and Rose Bowl serving as the semifinals for the 2014-2015 season. For years that these bowl games are Secretary...... Ann E. Pope not hosting semifinals they will host teams consistent with conference affiliations and/or College Football Playoff Treasurer...... Shaun M. Davis committee selections. The two victorious teams from the semifinals will then advance to the College Football Immediate Past President/Chair.... Andrew P. Hertz Playoff National Championship, this year played in Arlington, Texas. The National Championship Game will be CEO...... Eric L. Poms played in a different city each year. In the process of selecting the final four teams for the semifinals, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will release weekly, top 25 rankings beginning Tuesday, October 28th Communications Staff for five consecutive weeks. Factors that will influence rankings and eventual team selections include schedule strength, results from head-to-head matchups against common opponents and conference championships won. Larry Wahl (305) 341-4718 VP, Communications The In the Next 12 Years - The Orange Bowl will host a College Football Playoff Semifinal every [email protected] three years: December 31 in 2015, 2018, 2021 and 2024 at either 5 p.m. or 8:30 p.m. During the eight years when the Orange Bowl does not host a semifinal it will feature theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Champion, Kallan Louis (305) 341-4737 or if the champion is participating in the College Football Playoff the next highest ranked ACC school (selected by Communications Coordinator the CFP selection committee), against the highest ranked available school from either the , [email protected] (SEC) or Notre Dame (as chosen by the CFP selection committee). The Big Ten and SEC will receive a minimum of three Orange Bowl appearances each during the eight games and Notre Dame Kacie Albert (305) 341-4785 may make up to two appearances in the eight games. Communications & Media Assistantship [email protected]

Sugar Rose Orange Cotton Peach Fiesta Championship Daniel Pyser (305) 341-4734 Communications & Media Intern 2014-15 Semi-Final Semi-Final Orange Cotton Peach Fiesta Arlington, TX [email protected] (Jan.1) (Jan.1) (Dec. 31) (Jan. 1) (Dec. 31) (Dec. 31) (Jan. 12) ACC MATCHUP OF THE WEEK 2015-16 Sugar Rose Semi-Final Semi-Final Peach Fiesta Glendale, AZ (Jan. 1) (Jan. 1) (Dec. 31) (Dec. 31) (Dec. 31) (Jan. 1) (Jan. 11)

2017-18 Sugar Rose Orange Cotton Semi-Final Semi-Final Tampa, FL (Jan. 2) (Jan. 2) (Dec. 31) (Jan. 2) (Dec. 31) (Dec. 31) (Jan. 9)

IMPORTANT MEDIA DATES

Tue. Oct. 28 First CFP Rankings Released Tue. Dec. 9 Lou Groza Award Banquet

Sat. Dec. 6 Conference Championship Games Sat.- Sun. Dec. 13-14 Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance Championships, Presented by Sports Authority Friday, September 5 Sun. Dec. 7 CFP Selection Show / Coaches’ Teleconference st Wed. Dec. 31 81 Annual Orange Bowl Photo Credit:Pete Madia 7:00 P.M. EDT on ESPN Photo Credit:David Silverman WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING

Brett McMurphy Mark Schlabach Stewart Mandel Jerry Palm Brant Parsons Phil Steele

Clemson Louisville Clemson Clemson Clemson North Carolina vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Texas A&M Alabama Alabama Auburn Wisconsin Auburn

Florida State Oregon Auburn Florida State Auburn Alabama vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Oklahoma Georgia UCLA Oklahoma Oregon Oklahoma

Georgia Florida State Florida State Alabama Florida State Florida State vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Oregon Texas A&M Georgia Oregon Georgia UCLA

Florida State Alabama ------vs. vs. Auburn Florida State

Alabama Baylor Oklahoma Texas A&M UCLA Baylor vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Baylor USC Stanford Michigan State Alabama Oregon

LSU Oklahoma Texas A&M UCLA Oklahoma Ohio State vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Michigan State Michigan State Washington Ohio State Stanford Marshall

Auburn Cincinnati Ohio State Georgia Michigan State Michigan State vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. vs. Marshall Ohio State East Carolina Cinncinati UCF Georgia Weekend Watch List Conference Action Relevant to the Orange Bowl Pittsburgh at Boston College In the ACC – In the only intra-conference matchup of the weekend, conference newcomer Louisville rolled past Friday, September 7, 7:00 p.m. Miami 31-13. Louisville’s defense opened strong logging three takeaways and limiting Miami to only one successful third down conversion in 13 attempts. On offense redshirt senior Dominique Brown led the rushing effort, recording Both teams opened week 1 with a win...First 33 carries for 143 yards and a touchdown. Amongst ranked ACC teams, the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles outlasted meeting since 2003, when both were in the Big the Oklahoma State Cowboys 37-31, extending their winning streak to 17. Reigning Heisman Trophy winning East. quarterback Jameis Winston threw for 370 yards and rushed for one of the Seminoles’ four touchdowns on a 28 yard run, the longest of his career. Seminole wide receiver and former South Florida high school standout Rashad Greene #14 USC at #13 Stanford recorded 11 receptions for 203 yards and one touchdown. The matchup between the then No. 16 Clemson Tigers Saturday, September 6, 3:30 p.m. and then No. 12 Georgia Bulldogs was eerily similar to the 2013 season opener, until halftime. The 2014 game also entered halftime tied (21-21), however the Bulldogs took control in the second half, shutting out the Tigers in USC has not won at Stanford since 2008... USC route to a 45-21 victory. For the then No. 23 North Carolina Tar Heels their 56-29 victory against the Liberty Flames leads series 58-29-3 and won the last matchup was defined by the third quarter of play. In a span of four minutes near the end of the third, the Tar Heels scored 28 27-20. points to erase a 22-21 deficit. Several ACC schools took on in-state foes: Boston College beat Massachusetts 30-7, Virginia Tech routed William and Mary 34-9, and Duke overpowered Elon 52-13. Elsewhere in the ACC Syracuse #15 Ole Miss at Vanderbilt defeated Villanova in overtime, Pittsburgh shut out Delaware 62-0 and NC State rallied in the fourth quarter to take Saturday, September 6, 4:30 p.m. down Georgia Southern. In week two Pittsburgh will travel to Boston College in the only ACC matchup of the week.

Ole Miss rallied from a 21-10 deficit at halftime In the SEC - In the Southeastern Conference’s first game of the season, the then No. 21 Texas A&M Aggies upset in last year’s matchup to win 39-35... Ole Miss the then No. 9 South Carolina Gamecocks 52-28 on South Carolina’s home turf. The Aggies took the lead on their leads series 48-38-2. first drive and never looked back. In his debut, quarterback Kenny Hill became the firstTexas A&M quarterback to throw for more than 500 yards, finishing with 511 yards. In the SEC West division’s first matchup of the year then No. 6 Auburn defeated Arkansas 45-21. The game was tied at halftime (21-21), however, Auburn shutdown the Arkansas #7 Michigan State at #3 Oregon offense in the second half, holding them scoreless. Among the eight SEC teams not facing a conference opponent, Saturday, September 6, 6:30 p.m. seven emerged victorious. Due to weather, Florida’s matchup against Idaho was suspended. This week in SEC play No. 15 Ole Miss will travel to Vanderbilt, while the rest of the teams will face non-conference opponents. Two of the nation’s best in an early season showdown...Both teams won their season In the Big Ten - After losing at home to UCF (34-31) in 2013, Penn State traveled to Dublin, Ireland and reversed openers by 30+ points. their fortunes in the Croke Park Classic. Penn State led the whole game until UCF took a one point lead with just over a minute to play. On Penn State’s last possession Sam Ficken kicked a 36-yard field goal for a 26-24 Penn State victory. For the Michigan Wolverines week one was the opportunity to avenge their 2007 historic loss to Michigan at #16 Notre Dame Appalachian State. Michigan shut out Appalachian state in the first half (35-0) in route to their 52-14 victory. For the Saturday, September 6, 7:30 p.m. then No. 5 Ohio State Buckeyes their season opener against Navy was the first test for the offense’s new leader, true freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett. The Buckeyes found themselves trailing Navy in the second and third Last scheduled meeting between college quarters, yet outscored Navy in the fourth (14-3) to rally for a 34-17 victory. Elsewhere in the Big Ten the then No. 14 football’s two winningest programs...Michigan Wisconsin Badgers entered halftime with a 17-7 lead against the then No. 13 LSU Tigers, but were outscored 14-0 leads the series 24-16-1. in the fourth quarter giving LSU the 28-24 come-from-behind win. This week the Big Ten has several notable cross-

conference matchups: No. 7 Michigan State will travel to take on the Pac-12’s No. 3 Oregon, Michigan will travel to BYU at Texas take on No. 16 Notre Dame and No. 8 Ohio State will host the ACC’s Virginia Tech. Saturday September 6, 7:30 p.m. At Notre Dame - The then No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish began the 2014 season with a 48-17 home victory Unranked BYU upset No.15 Texas 40-21 in the over Rice. Notable for the Fighting Irish was the return of senior quarterback Everett Golson who became the third 2013 matchup... BYU leads series 3-1. quarterback in school history to rush for three touchdowns in a game. Notre Dame, now ranked No. 16, will remain in South Bend for week two when they host the Big Ten’s Michigan.

Virginia Tech at #8 Ohio State Saturday, September 6, 8:00 p.m. Orange Bowl Named South Florida’s Top Sporting Event Both teams began the season with 15+ point The Orange Bowl has been named South Florida’s Top Sporting Event in BizBash Media’s list of “Miami/South wins...First meeting between Virginia Tech and Florida’s Top 100 Events 2014.” Ohio State. BizBash Media is an innovator and resource hub for the event and meeting industry with its Web site, magazines, and trade shows. Event organizers responsible for events such as White House state dinners and the Oscars, as well as conferences, trade shows, fund-raisers, and more use BizBash products regularly for ideas and best Associated Press Top 25 Poll practices that can be implemented at their own events. 1. Florida State To choose and rank the annual events on this list, BizBash looked at several factors, including economic impact, 2. Alabama buzz, innovation, and an event’s prominence within the communities it intends to serve. 3. Oregon The Orange Bowl is college football’s second oldest and has a history of hosting some of the most exciting matchups while presenting first-class pre-game and halftime performances. Last season featured two of the 4. Oklahoma country’s top offenses, Clemson and Ohio State, in a closely contested shootout with Clemson narrowly escaping 5. Auburn 40-35. The halftime show featured multi-platinum, GRAMMY nominated country superstar Dierks Bentley. He joined a long-standing tradition of top entertainment showcased during the Orange Bowl halftime show, which has included 6. Georgia Jake Owen, Train, the Goo Goo Dolls, Kelly Clarkson, Kool & the Gang, Ciara, ZZ Top and the Doobie Brothers in 7. Michigan State recent years. Other top artists performing at last season’s pre-game festivities included platinum selling country duo, 8.Ohio State Love and Theft and Danielle Bradbery, the season four winner of “The Voice.” 9.Texas A&M Starting this season, the Orange Bowl will return to its New Year’s holiday roots with a new and exciting matchup, 10. Baylor and as part of a rotation of bowls included in the new College Football Playoff. 11. UCLA 12. LSU Photos of the Week 13. Stanford 14. USC Before was drafted by the New 15. Ole Miss York Jets in 2013, he played in both the 16. Notre Dame Orange Bowl Youth Football Alliance and in the 2012 Orange Bowl. In the 2012 Orange 17. Arizona State Bowl, Smith received most outstanding 18. Wisconsin player honors in West Virginia’s 70-33 rout of Clemson. Smith still holds the Orange Bowl 19. Nebraska passing yardage record with 407 yards. He 20. Kansas State will start in the season opener this Sunday 21T. South Carolina against the Oakland Raiders at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey. 21T. North Carolina 23. Clemson 24. Missouri 25. Louisville