College Football Playoffs Set
On Sunday morning, the extended process of determining the top four teams in college football was finally announced.
The semifinals will feature 1 Alabama playing 4 Cincinnati in the Good Year Cotton Bowl and 2 Michigan facing 3 Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide jumped from third to first with their dominant 41-24 victory over the then-undefeated Georgia Bulldogs in the SEC Championship Game. They finished the season with an 12-1 record and SEC championship title.
The Michigan Wolverines stayed at number two after crushing Iowa 42-3 in the Big Ten Championship Game. They were also 12-1 overall.
Georgia was the top-ranked squad in college football for most of the year. They went into the SEC Championship Game with an undefeated 12-0 record and the nation's best defensive unit. However, after getting pummeled by Alabama in their biggest game of the season, they dropped two spots in the rankings.
Because the Bulldogs lost in their championship game on Saturday, Cincinnati is the only remaining undefeated team in college football. The undefeated Bearcats were given respect by the playoff committee, and they now hold the title as the first ever team from the group of five conferences to make the College Football Playoff. They took down 21 Houston on Saturday in the AAC Championship Game to finish off their magical undefeated season.
Instead of having a rematch of the SEC Championship Game in the playoff semifinals, Alabama was given the one seed to face the Bearcats instead of the Bulldogs in the first round.
Michigan has taken college football by storm in recent weeks after beating their archrival Ohio State Buckeyes. They will have to play Georgia in their intriguing semifinal matchup.
The two teams that were just outside of the top four were 5 Notre Dame and 6 Ohio State. The Fighting Irish were 11-1 with their only loss coming to Cincinnati. The Buckeyes were 10-2 in 2021 with their most important loss being against Michigan.
The Big 12 Conference Champion Baylor Bears, who knocked off the Oklahoma State Cowboys in a thrilling championship game, were not included in the top six of the final poll.