Seven Canadian players are set to compete in the new 12-team College Football Playoff, led by Indiana University quarterback Kurtis Rourke.
The Oakville, Ont. native will lead the 10th-seeded Hoosiers in their first-round matchup against the University of Notre Dame on Friday, December 20. Rourke has completed 70.4 percent of his passes for 2,827 yards, 27 touchdowns, and four interceptions since transferring from Ohio this season, going 10-1 as a starter. He was a second-team All-Big Ten honoree in his final year of eligibility and was recently named a finalist for the Manning Award as the top QB in college football.
The younger brother of B.C. Lions’ quarterback Nathan Rourke won’t be the only player from north of the border involved in that elimination game. The seventh-seeded Fighting Irish boast a trio of Canadian defensive tackles in Armel Mukam of LaPrairie, Que., Sean Sevillano of Winnipeg, Man., and Devan Houstan of Mississauga, Ont. Both Mukam and Sevillano have recorded four tackles in limited action this season, while Houstan has notched just one.
Elsewhere on the bracket, eighth-seeded Ohio State also has a pair of Canadians, though neither is expected to contribute in their first-round matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday, December 21. Freshman tight end Maxence LeBlanc from St-Bruno, Que. has played sparingly in three contests after being the top-ranked Canadian recruit last year, while punter Anthony Venneri from Hamilton, Ont. has yet to dress for a game since transferring from Buffalo.
The closest Canadian to seizing a national title may be safety Ty Benefield, son of all-star CFL linebacker Daved Benefield, who leads the third-seeded Boise State defence. The native of Vancouver, B.C. has amassed a team-high 73 total tackles in 13 games, adding five tackles for loss, a forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, three pass breakups, and two interceptions. He helped the Broncos win a Mountain West title and claim the Group of Five auto-bid for the playoff, earning them a first-round bye as one of the four highest-ranked conference champions. They won’t suit up until the Fiesta Bowl on Tuesday, December 31.
Teams without any Canadian content who qualified for the playoff include Oregon, Georgia, Arizona State, Texas, Penn State, Southern Methodist, Tennessee, and Clemson. The first two teams left off the bracket both have Canadian players, with one at Alabama and three playing for Miami.
Since the introduction of a definitive college football championship game in 1998, just eight Canadians have been part of a national title win. Only two of those have occurred in the College Football Playoff era, as defensive lineman Alessandro Lorenzetti won with Michigan in 2024 and receiver John Metchie III helped Alabama to victory in 2020.
Before Metchie, no Canadian had won since LSU offensive lineman Peter Dyakowski in 2003. He capped a three-year run of Canadians hoisting the BCS National Championship trophy, following Ohio State cornerback Mike Roberts in 2002. Four players from north of the border were part of the legendary 2001 Miami Hurricanes squad, including offensive linemen Sherko Haji-Rasouli, Joe McGrath, and Brett Romberg and defensive lineman Miguel Robede.
The College Football Playoff will get underway on Friday, December 20 at 8:00 p.m. EST when Indiana (11-1) takes on Notre Dame (11-1). The National Championship will be played on Monday, January 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
