College Football Playoff Rankings 2021: Final Top 25 projections

Poor Cincinnati. Well, I guess you can’t feel too bad for the Bearcats because they’re playoff-bound, but they can’t seem to top the No. 4 spot desoute being undefeated at 13-0. Cincinnati will have the unfortunate task of playing either Alabama or Michigan in the first game and we’ll see if the Group of Five will ever get respect from the committee again.

Georgia may have lost which would drop most teams out of the playoff race during Championship Week, but the Bulldogs were dominant all season long and looked like the best team in the country for 12 out of 13 games. The Bulldogs will likely drop to No. 3 to avoid an immediate rematch with Alabama in the semifinal and that would set up a massive matchup with Michigan. Kirby Smart said this was a wake-up call and we’ll see how much truth that holds in the semifinal against the Big Ten champion.

I know what you’re probably thinking: Michigan was the No. 2 team already, beat the No. 13 team, and the No. 1 team in the country lost, so wouldn’t it be No. 1? If Alabama didn’t look so dominant against that No. 1 team in the country in the SEC Championship Game, I’d say absolutely. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, they’ll get the tough task of facing a hungry Georgia team in the national semifinal. Charles Woodson may have lobbied for Michigan as the No. 1 team, but the committee will almost undoubtedly have Alabama there.

Speaking of those Crimson Tide, they’ll likely switch spots with Georgia in this week’s rankings, and I think that’s only fair for a couple of reasons. For one, the Tide handled the best team in the country and looked like the best team in college football on Saturday. And two, the committee will not set up a rematch between Alabama and Georgia in the semifinal. Nick Saban thrives as an underdog and Bryce Young is the best player in college football.