Photo courtesy of Texas athletics
Introduction
We’ve created a 130-team bracket using ESPN’s FPI as our ranking system.
“But, anyone can create a bracket, how will the games be simulated?” Great question; NCAA Game Sim was used.
For each game on the bracket, the matchup was simulated once and every day a write-up will be done.
For the matchup, player statistics will be simulated and included in the write-ups.
Finally, thanks to the NCAA Game Sim premium membership, we’ll show the results of doing 100 simulations all at once. This is to see if a given result was more towards the expected side or if a given result was more towards the upset or luckier side.
All of the results have been simulated and tabulated, so at the time of writing the introduction, the results are already in.
This is designed to be fun, so please enjoy.
From Georgia to Massachusetts, here’s the 130-team bracket:
Match 122
(1) Clemson vs. (3) Texas
How Clemson Got Here: 10-6 win over (16) Vanderbilt, 34-9 win over (9) San Diego State, 37-12 win over (5) BYU
How Texas Got Here: 44-13 win over (14) Old Dominion, 38-31 win over (6) Western Kentucky, 36-17 win over (2) Iowa State
Texas quarterback Casey Thompson did an OK job keeping the ball out of harm’s way, but he struggled to push the ball down the field.
Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei did an OK job pushing the ball down the field, but he struggled to keep the ball out of harms way.
Thompson finished 20-for-31 with 168 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, although the interception was from midfield on the last play of the first half.
Uiagalelei, on the other hand, finished 20-for-37 with 270 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. Those interceptions were both in the red zone, effectively wiping two Tiger scores off the board.
Where Thompson struggled to move the Texas offense, surprise contributor running back Roschon Johnson found 111 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
Clemson’s leading rusher was Will Shipley, who ran for 52 yards on 12 attempts.
Texas plays a cleaner, crisper game and reaps the benefits of few mistakes. The Longhorns advance by a tally of 30-14.
In 100 simulations, Texas won 71 by an average margin of 29.8-20.2.
Clemson’s loss knocks out the ACC from the competition. As we head to the Elite Eight, there are two teams remaining from each of the other Power 5 conferences.
What’s fun about a large tournament like this, is that there are some teams expected to be here — see Georgia and Michigan — and there are some teams that are not expected to here — see Oregon, Tennessee, and most of all, Maryland.
Winner’s Next Matchup: (1) Georgia
Tomorrow’s Matchup: (1) Georgia vs. (3) Texas
Updated Bracket
Teams Lost, In Order:
PLAY-IN
Massachusetts, Connecticut
ROUND 1
Akron, New Mexico State, Florida International, Temple, New Mexico, Bowling Green, Rice, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Southern Mississippi, Ohio, Kansas, Duke, UNLV, Georgia Southern, UTEP, South Alabama, San Jose State, South Florida, Arizona, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, Ball State, Minnesota, Navy, Nebraska, Buffalo, Troy, Colorado State, North Texas, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Stanford, Tulane, Colorado, Wyoming, Middle Tennessee, Rutgers, Miami University, Indiana, Louisville, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, West Virginia, Central Michigan, Missouri, Syracuse, Tulsa, Western Michigan, Utah State, Liberty, UTSA, Boston College, Nevada, South Carolina, Army, Washington, Air Force, Virginia Tech
ROUND 2
Toledo, Alabama, Illinois, TCU, UAB, Marshall, USC, San Diego State, California, UCF, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Oregon State, Florida State, Baylor, NC State, Louisiana, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Auburn, SMU, Wake Forest, Miami, Western Kentucky, Purdue, Arizona State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Kent State, Kansas State, UCLA, Appalachian State
ROUND 3
Iowa, Florida, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Houston, Boise State, Oklahoma State, BYU, Iowa State, LSU, North Carolina, Fresno State, Wisconsin, Georgia State, Virginia, Memphis
ROUND 4
Penn State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Clemson
REMAINING TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:
American: 0/11 (last remaining was No. 2 Cincinnati, eliminated Day 120)
ACC: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 1 Clemson, eliminated Day 121)
Big 12: 2/10 (highest remaining: 1. Oklahoma)
Big Ten: 2/14 (highest remaining: 1. Michigan)
Conference USA: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 6 Western Kentucky, eliminated Day 89)
Independents: 0/7 (last remaining was No. 1 Notre Dame, eliminated Day 119)
MAC: 0/12 (last remaining was No. 13 Kent State, eliminated Day 94)
Mountain West: 0/12 (last remaining was No. 7 Fresno State, eliminated Day 109)
Pac-12: 2/12 (highest remaining: 2. Utah)
SEC: 2/14 (highest remaining: 1. Georgia)
Sun Belt: 0/10 (last remaining was No. 6 Coastal Carolina, eliminated Day 117)