Here is how the "Stars" align on each roster.

10 hours ago, theguru said:

From MaxPreps:

Where every player in the College Football Playoff semifinals went to high school.

California is the one that surprises me. 

I just saw in the press conference that the money from the CFP is about $14 million dollars all of the other schools like in the NCAA Basketball tournament is shared among school in their conference members. However, Notre Dame gets to keep all of their $14 million dollars. That is big in NIL money. Penn State coach James Franklin said in their press conference that all schools should be in a conference and play for a conference title or no one should. The downside I guess for the Irish is they will always have to win 4 games to win the title since they are not in a conference, they under the current format could never get a bye. But that $14 million is big. For example, Texas will only get about $3.4 of their $14 million.

6 hours ago, Jumper_Dad said:

Here is how the "Stars" align on each roster.

I wonder how many 2 or 3 stars receive significant playing time. There are usually a couple of diamonds in there that work their tails off to get on the field. 

4 hours ago, Voice of Reason said:

California is the one that surprises me. 

That there aren't more?

18 minutes ago, theguru said:

Absolutely no shot this is accurate. LOL

1 minute ago, TheDeuce said:

Absolutely no shot this is accurate. LOL

I have no idea but it came from Lance McAlister and BetOnline AG:

Who is the country rooting for in the CFB playoffs?
From BetOnline AG 
"The InfoMap below is based on geotagged X data.
As you can see from the map, Notre Dame is now "America's team" with a whopping 40 states backing them. Also interesting is that nobody seems to be interested in seeing Ohio State win outside of Ohio. Finally, interesting to see some of the fellow SEC states in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi supporting Texas in their first year in the conference. Notre Dame has always had a large national following, and it's especially on display here as all of the fan favorite underdog teams have been eliminated."
Here's the state breakdown:
Notre Dame - 40 states (all other states)
Penn State - 5 states (Alaska, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania)
Texas - 4 states (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas)
Ohio State - 1 state (Ohio)

11 minutes ago, theguru said:

I have no idea but it came from Lance McAlister and BetOnline AG:

Who is the country rooting for in the CFB playoffs?
From BetOnline AG 
"The InfoMap below is based on geotagged X data.
As you can see from the map, Notre Dame is now "America's team" with a whopping 40 states backing them. Also interesting is that nobody seems to be interested in seeing Ohio State win outside of Ohio. Finally, interesting to see some of the fellow SEC states in Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi supporting Texas in their first year in the conference. Notre Dame has always had a large national following, and it's especially on display here as all of the fan favorite underdog teams have been eliminated."
Here's the state breakdown:
Notre Dame - 40 states (all other states)
Penn State - 5 states (Alaska, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania)
Texas - 4 states (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Texas)
Ohio State - 1 state (Ohio)

Ah, from a betting stand point I can see it. Nobody believes in Penn State. 

1 minute ago, TheDeuce said:

Ah, from a betting stand point I can see it. Nobody believes in Penn State. 

I believe in Penn State for contest purposes. 

7 hours ago, sportsfan41 said:

That there aren't more?

Correct. I would expect California to be comparable to OH and PA.

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

Correct. I would expect California to be comparable to OH and PA.

I would expect a lot more than that.  The population of CA is roughly 39 million, OH 12 million, and PA 13 million.  Using population, CA should have more than both OH and PA combined.  So to your point, surprise is an understatement.

4 minutes ago, theguru said:

I would expect a lot more than that.  The population of CA is roughly 39 million, OH 12 million, and PA 13 million.  Using population, CA should have more than both OH and PA combined.  So to your point, surprise is an understatement.

True on the population point but OH and PA have always been in the top 5 states for college football recruiting. Plus 3 of these teams are east of the Mississippi so that geography an impact also.

Just now, Voice of Reason said:

True on the population point but OH and PA have always been in the top 5 states for college football recruiting. Plus 3 of these teams are east of the Mississippi so that geography an impact also.

"They" claim they have great high school football in CA.

No matter how we look at it, something looks wrong in California. 

23 minutes ago, Voice of Reason said:

Correct. I would expect California to be comparable to OH and PA.

But 3 of the 4 schools are all located east of the Mississippi. I'm not sure how hard Texas recruits California but I'd say they also get plenty of 4 and 5 star guys from Texas and the surrounding states.

Ohio State, Penn State and Notre Dame are all great football schools, but if a player grew up in California, those places are border line like playing on another planet, especially the second half of the season. 

I think the schools involved probably will look to California for the can't miss 5 star and occasional 4 star. But I think the bulk of the 2-3 star guys are likely recruited closer to those schools typical recruiting pipeline. Just my take.