College Football Playoff preview: Picking the first-round CFP matchups

The wait is almost over. 

The first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff is set to kick off this week as Notre Dame and Indiana meet at 8 p.m. ET Friday at Notre Dame Stadium, followed by a trio of opening-round matchups on Saturday: SMU at Penn State (12 p.m. ET), Clemson at Texas (4 p.m. ET) and Tennessee at Ohio State (8 p.m. ET).

All four matchups will take place on campus, as the higher seed in each game will host the opening-round playoff games. It is shaping up to be one of the most memorable weekends in the sport's history, and our  college football writers Laken Litman, RJ Young and Michael Cohen are here to preview it all.

Who will win each first-round matchup, and why? Here are our expert's picks.

Indiana vs. Notre Dame – Who is your pick to win this game and why?

Laken Litman: Statistically, these teams match up pretty well: Notre Dame has a top three scoring defense, Indiana has a top three scoring offense; Notre Dame has a top 10 rushing attack, while Indiana has the nation's best rushing defense. But on a night where it could be hard to throw the ball – in the current forecast, there's a chance of snow with a high of 33 degrees on Friday night in South Bend – the game could favor Notre Dame.

That's because the Irish offense is built around the run. Notre Dame ranks 10th nationally in rushing offense (224.8 yards per game) and is led by sophomore star running back Jeremiyah Love, who leads the team with 949 total rushing yards, is averaging more than 7 yards per rush, and has scored 15 touchdowns. What's more is that quarterback Riley Leonard is exceptionally dangerous with his feet – he's second on the team in rushing yards (721 yards, 14 TD). 

It could be tough to run between the tackles – IU is only