Just call the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff the Nick Saban Invitational. All four head coaches of the remaining teams in the CFP were assistants on Saban's staff at one point or another. Curt Cignetti of Indiana and Dan Lanning of Oregon will meet each other for the second time this season January 9 in the Peach Bowl.

Mario Cristobal of Miami and Pete Golding of Ole Miss are the other coaches in the semifinal round and they will meet January 8 in the Peach Bowl.

Both Cignetti and Lanning had high praise for the influence of Saban on their coaching careers. “I felt after one year with Coach Saban, I learned more about how to run a program than I maybe did the previous 27 as an assistant coach,” Cignetti said.

Lanning had a similar take on Saban's knowledge of the game and his expertise at running a successful program. “I was going to take a pay cut to go be a Graduate Assistant there. When anybody asked me why, I said I'm going to get my doctorate in football. Things I thought I knew, I realized I didn't really know anything.”

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Cignetti showed off his coaching skill against Saban's old team

Indiana has a perfect 14-0 record to this point in the season, and the Hoosiers earned their spot in the semifinal round with a 38-3 victory over Alabama. The Crimson Tide suffered their worst defeat in a bowl game at the hands of the Hoosiers.

Indiana built a 17-0 lead at halftime over Alabama and there was no letup in the second half. Indiana had a huge advantage in rushing yards in the game, outgaining Alabama by a 218-23 margin.

Lanning's Oregon team was nearly as dominant in their 23-0 victory over Texas Tech. The Ducks will take a 13-1 record into their meeting with Indiana. The Hoosiers defeated the Ducks 30-20 in their October meeting at Oregon.