The CFB Semifinals have a regional misalignment problem. On Thursday night, No. 10 Miami and No. 6 Ole Miss will travel to Phoenix to play in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. Then, on Friday night, No. 5 Oregon and No. 1 Indiana will square off in a B1G rematch at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Go ahead, read those last two sentences again. No, we won’t complain about the rankings. The fact that Indiana is the only team in eight opportunities to win a quarterfinal game after a bye. Or how the B1G has passed the SEC for supremacy. We disagree on that, but we will make that argument another day.
No, what we are here to complain about is that BOTH of our semifinal games are severely misaligned and are costing fans too much money, and just don’t make any sense! Last Word’s Andrew and Drew have your game analysis. We are here to solve the people’s problems. Let’s take a closer look at each of the semifinal games.
CFB Playoff Semifinals Regional Misalignment
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Ole Miss Rebels
Location: Oxford, Mississippi
Closest Airport: Memphis International Airport (unless you’re Charlie Weiss Jr.)
| Distance to Phoenix | 1,508 miles | Distance to Atlanta | 331 miles |
| How long is the drive? | 21 hours, 16 minutes | How long is the drive? | 4 hours, 45 minutes |
| How much are flights? |
Budget airlines: $133 – $220 Average/Typical: $250 – $435 |
How much are flights? | Budget airlines: $88 – $150 Average/Typical: $170 – $359 |
Miami Hurricanes
Location: Coral Gables, Florida
Closest Airport: Miami International Airport
| Distance to Phoenix | 2,360 miles | Distance to Atlanta | 662 miles |
| How long is the drive? | 1 day, 9 hours | How long is the drive? | 9 hours, 26 min |
| How much is a flight? |
Budget airlines: $145 – $220 Average/Typical: $250 – $475 |
How much is a flight? | Budget airlines: $49 – $95 Average/Typical: $120 – $240 |
We have two teams from the bottom right corner of the United States. Yet, rather than put them in the capital of the South, Atlanta, for the CFB Playoff semifinal, the committee sent them to Arizona. It just is crazy and doesn’t make any damn sense. The option to fly or drive is available to both fan bases. Flights are easy in and easy out. Again, Atlanta is the capital of the South. This one is just baffling and is one of our biggest antagonists to what is driving our gears about the games this weekend.
Chick-fil-A PeachBowl
Oregon Ducks
Location: Eugene, Oregon
Closest Airport: Portland International Airport
| Distance to Atlanta | 2,616 miles | Distance to Phoenix | 1225 miles |
| How long is the drive? | 1 day, 14 hours | How long is the drive? | 17 hours, 48 minutes |
| How much is a flight? |
Budget airlines: Average/Typical: $280 – $495 |
How much is a flight? |
Budget airlines: Average/Typical: $240 – $410 |
Indiana Hoosiers
Location: Bloomington, Indiana
Closest Airport: Indianapolis Airport Authority
| Distance to Atlanta | 516 miles | Distance to Phoenix | 1,679 miles |
| How long is the drive? | 7 hours, 28 min | How long is the drive? | 23 hours, 59 minutes |
| How much is a flight? | Budget airlines: $63 – $120 Average/Typical: $165 – $400 |
How much is a flight? | Budget airlines: $118 – $215 Average/Typical: $280 – $600 |
Can’t We Just Be At Home?
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Ole Miss 31
Miami 27
Chick-fil-A PeachBowl
Oregon 17
Indiana 15
Main Photo: Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
