But the overwhelming sentiment after the first round of the new-look College Football Playoff is that 12 teams is too many.  If anything, this past weekend's slate expanded the current gulf between the haves and the have-nots.

Here's how each team can win its quarterfinal game, plus key players, X factors and what we learned from the first round.

Maybe the games would’ve been more competitive had the powers that be not given unearned first-round byes to conference champions Arizona State and Boise State.