4 CFP Teams, 4 Stats You Need to Know, Players to Watch

Four contenders. One title.

The College Football Playoff semifinals kick off on Thursday, Jan. 8, as the Miami Hurricanes take on the Ole Miss Rebels in the Fiesta Bowl. The following day, the Indiana Hoosiers and the Oregon Ducks will square off in the Peach Bowl in a rematch of a highly contested regular season game.

Each team has showcased elite play all year, dominating competition while also winning marquee matchups. Below, FOX Sports Research has pointed out one stat to know for each team, along with an offensive and defensive player to watch for. Let's take a look:

No. 6 Ole Miss

Stat to know: Ole Miss now has 13 wins on the year, a new school record, and is now 3-0 this season in games in which it enters the fourth quarter trailing; from 2015 to 2024, the Rebels were 4-37 in games in which they entered the fourth quarter trailing. Georgia had won 75 straight games when entering the fourth with a lead.  

Offensive star: Trinidad Chambliss — After his career-high 362 passing yards vs Georgia, Chambliss now leads FBS in 300-yard passing games with eight; he also ranks third in FBS in total offense with 4,180 yards.

Defensive star: Suntarine Perkins — He's the only active SEC player to have 17-plus sacks and multiple INTs over the past three seasons.

Trinidad Chambliss led Ole Miss to a comeback win against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.

No. 10 Miami

Stat to know: The Hurricanes' 24 points against the Buckeyes was the most Ohio State had given up all season, and the most the Buckeyes had given up in 446 days (since giving up 32 points to Oregon in the 2024 regular season); Miami's 12 sacks in the CFP are already the second-most ever by a team in a single playoff run, trailing only last year's Ohio State team (18).

Offensive star: Malachi Toney — He is the only FBS freshman to eclipse 1,000 receiving yards on the season and is one of five Power Conference players to have 1,000-plus receiving yards and at least eight receiving TDs (Jeremiah Smith, Makai Lemon, Eric McAllister, Chris Brazzell II).

Defensive star: Rueben Bain Jr. — The projected top-10 NFL Draft pick leads all players in the CFP with four sacks and leads all Power Conference players in win percentage at 23.7% — which is the percentage of wins a player has vs. blocking on pass rushes (min. 300 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus).

Rueben Bain has four sacks in two CFP games for the Hurricanes.

No. 1 Indiana

Stat to know: In the quarterfinals, the Hoosiers handed the Crimson Tide their largest loss in a bowl game in school history, and it was also their first 30-point loss in a bowl game since 1998; Indiana is the only undefeated team left in FBS and is looking to become the first team ever to go 16-0 in a season. 

Offensive star: Fernando Mendoza — The Heisman Trophy winner leads all of FBS with 36 pass TDs; in the quarterfinal against Alabama, he joined Tua Tagovailoa (2018 vs. Oklahoma) as the only players in CFP history to throw at least three TDs with a completion percentage higher than 85%.

Defensive star: D'Angelo Ponds — He is one of four Power Conference cornerbacks to have a PFF coverage grade of 84-plus with 400-plus coverage snaps (Brent Austin, Karon Prunty, Keith Abney II, Devon Marshall), and is holding opposing QBs to an NFL passer rating of 63.7.

Fernando Mendoza spearheaded Indiana to a 38-3 victory over Alabama in the Rose Bowl.

No. 5 Oregon

Stat to know: The Ducks 23-0 victory over the Red Raiders was just the third shutout victory in the 49 CFP games that have been played all-time and was also the first shutout for Texas Tech since 2021; Oregon is also one of six teams in FBS to have 80-plus big plays on offense (big plays— rushes of 10-plus yards and receptions of at least 20 yards).

Offensive star: Dante Moore — A projected top-2 pick in this year's NFL Draft, he ranks third in FBS in completion percentage at 72.9% and is one of just three Power Conference QBs to throw for more than 3,200 yards with fewer than 10 INTs and a completion rate greater than 70% (Diego Pavia, Julian Sayin). 

Defensive star: Brandon Finney Jr. — The true freshman has been the Ducks' best corner all season; against Texas Tech, he joined Javon Bullard as the only players to record two INTs and one fumble recovery in a CFP game ever (Bullard did so vs. TCU in the national championship in 2023).

Brandon Finney Jr. had two interceptions against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl.

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