College Football Playoff, 2022 New Year’s Six projections after Week 2

College Football Playoff

Peach Bowl: 1 Alabama v 4 USC

Fiesta Bowl: 2 Ohio State vs 3 Oklahoma

In my projected playoff, I have two heavy favorites in Alabama and Ohio State, squaring off against the two teams that made the biggest noise all off-season.

In the Peach Bowl, I have Lincoln Riley and the Trojans return to prominence in a big way, making the CFP in year one in LA. Behind the dynamic duo of Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison, USC sent a message to Stanford and the PAC 12 with an offensive onslaught of the Cardinal. Addison and Williams look like Heisman contenders, but the defense will need to get better as the season goes along.

The Trojans reward? Nick Saban, Bryce Young, and Will Anderson Jr. Alabama are projected to dominate yet again, and take the top seed in the CFP. Yes, the Tide was absolutely pushed to the limit by Texas, and that offensive line has some real cause for concern. At the end of the day though, Bama probably has the two best players in college football, and Will Anderson and Bryce Young won the game for their team in the end. Bama stays on top in the projections for now.

On the other half of the bracket, I have Ohio State returning after missing out on the playoff last year. While the offense didn’t pop against Notre Dame, it looked better in their blowout victory over Arkansas State. The Jim Knowles defense continues to look better but may not face a real test for a while. The one negative for Ohio State is that their Notre Dame win is now somewhat irrelevant in helping their case to make the playoff, were they to ever slip up.

Facing off against the Buckeyes in the Fiesta Bowl is third-seeded Oklahoma. It was a sloppy first half on offense for OU this past week, but when they needed a score before the half, Dillon Gabriel and Marvin Mims did that Sooner magic, igniting the offense on a 33-0 run for the final 31 minutes.

It’s only been two games, but Venables has worked this defensive unit into the best Oklahoma has seen since the last time Venables was at Oklahoma. They are quick, elite at getting tackles for losses, and so far have shown to be solid in the open field, something that destroyed Riley’s defenses repeatedly.

If they can continue that level of play, Oklahoma should be heavily favored in all of their games.

College Football Playoff National Championship: 1 Alabama v 2 Ohio State

Two weeks into an already crazy season, we’re sticking with our National Championship game projection. The best players in college football typically meet up in the final game of the season. Bryce Young, Will Anderson Jr, and C.J. Stroud continue to look like the best.