The inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff field is down to four. The College Football Playoff semifinals are set. No. 6 Penn State will take on No. 7 Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl on Thursday night.

Some of it may be overboard, dancing on the grave of a not-dead patient by SEC haters who finally see their chance. Some of it is a chance to vent back at the loud pro-SEC voices, at ESPN and elsewhere. And a lot of this may be premature. New arrival Texas could still bring the SEC its sixth national title in eight years.

The elite players among college football's Final Four will be on center stage starting next week in the national semifinals.