CFP semifinals preview: Keys for Miami-Ole Miss, Oregon-Indiana - ESPN

It has been 29 years since a college football team won its first national title. There's about a two-in-three chance it will happen over the next couple of weeks; and if it doesn't, we'll have to settle for a team either winning its first crown in 63 years (Ole Miss) or 24 years (Miami). With three first-time semifinalists and a historical runner-up battling for the crown, college football is getting a burst of newness to finish the 2025 season. Here's a big «hell yeah» to that.

The College Football Playoff semifinals will kick off in Arizona on Thursday evening with the first Miami-Ole Miss game since 1951. The most dominant player in the CFP thus far (Miami's Rueben Bain Jr.) will chase around Ole Miss' incredible Trinidad Chambliss, and the Hurricanes will attempt to counter the Rebels' speed with good old-fashioned manpower.

The next day in Atlanta, national title favorite Indiana will pit its ridiculously experienced roster — and its chip-on-his-shoulder coach — against the young energy and blue-chip roster of Oregon for the second time this season. Can the Hoosiers maintain their perch with a season sweep of the Ducks?

New blood can be a spectacular thing in college football. Let's find out who best takes advantage of an incredible opportunity. Here's everything you need to follow in this week's CFP semifinals.

(Semifinalists only)

Amid some chaotic results, let's look back at the 20 or so players who were most responsible for giving us this pair of semifinal matchups. (Spoiler: Each team occupies five spots. We're all about equal treatment here.)

1. DE Rueben Bain Jr., Miami (2 games, 10 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 16 pressures, 2 run stops). Sixteen pressures! In two games! Bain has been unreal for