What if the Group of Five had a playoff in 2014? Part 4: Semifinals

In the ultimate what if scenario, let's look at the Group of Five in 2014 and how a 16-team playoff to determine the best of the best. In the third part of this five part series, we will look at the semifinal matchups.

Semifinal #1

Georgia Southern at Boise State: In a matchup between the youngest FBS team among the G5 and the most successful G5 team in the last 15 years, Georgia Southern steps on the blue turf of Boise State for the very first time. The Broncos have won 61 of their last 64 games at Albertson's Stadium and hold a significant home field advantage. The Bronco strike early with running back Jay Ajayi scampering 25 yards to open scoring on the first drive to give Boise State a 7-0 lead. Georgia Southern responds by moving the ball versus a bend but don't break Boise State defense until they reach the Broncos 40 yard line. The Eagles are stuffed on three straight plays and punt from a 4th and 14 at the Boise 44 yard line. The Broncos gt a couple of first downs before punting themselves and giving Georgia Southern the ball on the Eagles 38 yard line. The Eagles again move the ball slowly and this time come up with points, a 28-yard field goal as the first quarter comes to a close with Boise State leading 7-3.

Boise State jumps quickly in the second quarter with Grant Hedrick finding Tyler Sperbeck for a 57 yard pass and catch to move to the Georgia Southern 27 yard line. Three straight rushing plays and the Broncos are in the end zone again, this time a 7 yard scamper from Ajayi to give Boise State a 14-3 lead. The Eagles again move the ball versus the Bronco defense but suffer a huge mistake as a fumbled pitch results in Boise State possession at midfield. The Broncos immediately go after the Georgia Southern secondary and connect for a 50-yard pass to take a dominating 21-3 lead over the Eagles. Needing a big play to get back into the game, running back Matt Breida puts the team on his back with a 76-yard sprint down the right sideline late in the first half to cut the Boise State lead to 21-10 at halftime.

Georgia Southern receives the second half kickoff and slowly move the ball downfield and move into Boise State territory for the fourth time. A rare pass of 39 yards to Kentrellis Showers puts the Eagles inside the Broncos 10-yard line with a chance to cut the lead to four points. Boise State again comes up big on defense and forces a 25-yard field goal that splits the uprights and cuts the Boise State lead to 21-13. Needing to respond after the 10-0 run by Georgia Southern, Boise State puts the season on the back of Ajayi who responds with 12 carries for 76 yards on the ensuing drive, including a 2-yard touchdown plunge, to put Boise State back in control of the game at 28-13 with two minutes left in the third quarter.

Georgia Southern, struggling to find many lanes for long runs after the 76-yard rush by Breida, stays with what got them there and use a steady stream of Breida and quarterback Kevin Ellison to move into scoring range with running back Alfred Ramsby capping off the 14-play, 77-yard, drive that took up over eight minutes of game time. With the extra point, the Eagles were only down 28-20 with nine minutes left on the clock. Boise State again relies on Ajayi to do the heavy lifting and proceed to move the ball 60 yards to the Georgia Southern ten yard line, facing a 4th-and-6 with 1:22 left on the clock. The Broncos try for a game settling 27-yard field goal but it goes wide right, giving Georgia Southern the ball with 1:13 left and 73 yards to go with no timeouts. Ellison hits two quick passes that go for first downs but lose important seconds before spiking the ball at midfield with :37 left in the game. Ellison's next pass is picked off by Darian Thompson to secure the win and spot in the title game versus the winner of Marshall and Cincinnati. Boise State 28, Georgia Southern 20.

Semifinal #2

Cincinnati at Marshall: Playing for the first time since 2008, the Bearcats travel to Huntington for only the second time since 1937 to face the Conference USA champion Marshall Thundering Herd. Marshall wins the toss and defers, giving Cincinnati the ball to start the game. After a touchback, Bearcats quarterback immediately shows his ability to pick apart a defense with time in the pocket and throws nine straight passes to start the game for 70 yards, getting the Bearcats to the Marshall five yard line. Two stuffed rushing attempts and a dropped pass in the flat force Cincinnati to leave points on the board but take a 3-0 lead early in the game. Marshall, showing a bit of nevres in the early moments of the game, experience two uncharacteristic dropped passes and go three and out in their first offensive series. The defense, finally calm and collected with the goal line stand, give up one first down to the powerful Cincinnati offense but force a punt and give the ball back to the Marshall offense. Quarterback Rakeem Cato glides the Thundering Herd downfield but Devon Johnson finds the end zone on a delayed draw at the 16-yard line to give Marshall a 7-3 lead with three minutes left in the first quarter. Both team experience quick three and outs with Cincinnati getting the ball back early in the second quarter.

With 10 minutes left in the first half, the Bearcat offense wakes up once again with Shaq Washingtion making four straight catches for 50 yards followed by several good rushes by Mike Boone to put the Bearcats back in the red zone. This time the Bearcats are successful with Mekale McKay catching a 4 yard touchdown pass to give Cincinnati a 10-7 lead with four minutes left in the half. Four minutes was plenty of time for Marshall as Tommy Shuler and Devonte Allen found openings in the Bearcat secondary to pull closer to the end zone. Despite the great drive, Cincinnati finally stopped the Thundering Herd at the 15-yard line and forcing a 32-yard field goal attempt with :15 left in the half. The kick split the uprights and the teams headed to halftime tied at 10.

Receiving the kickoff to start the second half, the Thundering Herd put forth their best offensive output of the game so far with a 4-play, 66-yard drive that ended with Shuler catching a 39-yard touchdown pass from Cato to give Marshall a 17-10 lead early in the second half. Looking to respond, Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel was intercepted with Marshall starting again at the Bearcat 31-yard line. Five plays later, the Marshall lead was at double digits with Johnson finding paydirt from two yards out to give Marshall a 24-10 lead. Both teams traded touchdowns again in the third quarter with the Thundering Herd heading into the final quarter of action leading 31-17.

Cincinnati was able to pull within seven points at 31-24 with six minutes remaining in the game but could get no further as Marshall added a late rushing touchdown by Johnson, his third of the day, to give the Thundering Herd the final lead of 38-24. Marshall 38, Cincinnati 24. 

Championship: Boise State versus Marshall