John Thompson led Georgetown to the championship in 1984, the first of four Black coaches to win it all. Carolyn Peck and her Purdue women did it in 1999 and Dawn Staley of South Carolina joined her in 2017 with the first of her three titles.

Ohio State ’s Ryan Day, Texas’ Steve Sarkisian, Notre Dame ’s Marcus Freeman and Penn State ’s James Franklin are the final four. None has won a national championship as a head coach, making this season the third out of the last four in which the title will go to a head coach who has never won one.

The Orange Bowl between Penn State and Notre Dame could be a rock fight, and Texas can keep it close against Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.