The all-time record of first-round teams in the 12-team College Football Playoff dropped to 0-6 with No. 5 Oregon‘s 23-0 shutout of No. 4 Texas Tech the first quarterfinal contest of the day at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
Joey McGuire’s Red Raiders are the sixth team to obtain a first-round bye, and lose their subsequent matchup following the first round. No. 2 Ohio State, succumbing to No. 10 Miami 24-14 in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Eve, loss its first-ever bye after defeating then-No. 1 Oregon in last year’s Rose Bowl quarterfinal.
Texas Tech and Ohio State are the only two programs to ever leave the first half scoreless in the brief history of the College Football Playoff. Texas Tech is the first program go scoreless in the modern playoff format.
The remainder of the day sees No. 1 Indiana, taking on No. 9 Alabama in the Rose Bowl at 2 p.m. on ESPN, and No. 3 Georgia, matched with No. 6 Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl at 6 p.m. on ESPN, try and snap the streak and move on.
Orange Bowl Disaster for Texas Tech
The Texas Tech Red Raiders made their first College Football Playoff appearance on Thursday, representing the Big 12 Conference, and played the Oregon Ducks in the Orange Bowl. Texas Tech was fresh off its first-ever Big 12 Championship, while Oregon was an at-large representative from the Big Ten Conference. The match up featured two of the top scoring defenses in the country, which was on display for both teams on Thursday.
However, it was Oregon doing more on offense and winning the game 23-0. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Tech quarterback Behren Morton. He had three turnovers on the day (two interceptions, one fumble) and they came at critical times of the game. While he was reportedly near full health after dealing with a lower-leg injury for much of the season, he was simply overmatched by an Oregon defense that did not let up all afternoon. Morton finished 18/32 for 137 yards, while also taking four sacks.
Oregon will play the winner of Indiana vs. Alabama in the semifinals.
