Four first-round playoff games, which will end with four good teams going home without a bowl game, had the potential to shake up the system. The good news for McGarity and other bowl organizers: Adding quality teams to power leagues — Oregon to the Big Ten, Texas to the SEC and SMU to the ACC — managed to ease much of the handwringing.

Michigan football will play Alabama for the second straight postseason, this time in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Here's how to watch and a prediction.