College Football Playoff, New Year’s Six Bowl projections after Week 9

College Football Playoff

Fiesta Bowl

1 Ohio State v 4 Georgia 

Peach Bowl

2 Clemson vs 3 Alabama 

The first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings told us a lot, but I continue to project the same CFP rankings as the past few weeks.

Alabama finally got to their much-needed bye week, and now will head to Baton Rouge for a challenging road trip to LSU. The Tigers have turned the corner of late, and have always given Bama fits. If they survive LSU, Ole Miss awaits the next week.

The bye week should get Bama as healthy as they can get this season, but that may mean we get 2021 versions of Bryce Young and Will Anderson Jr.

If so, Alabama should be the SEC West division champs and meet Georgia or Tennessee in Atlanta. A win against either team and they’re going to go dancing. Here, we’re projecting the Tide to get healthy and locked in just in time.

In a College Football Playoff National Championship rematch, we’re still taking Bama over Georgia. The win pushes Bama into the field, while top seed Georgia barely hangs on.

With the win, Ohio State takes the top seed in the playoff and forces Georgia to lose out on a home playoff game opportunity, instead playing the 1 v 4 matchup in the Fiesta Bowl. The Buckeyes were pushed for 3 quarters before overwhelming the Nittany Lions on the road.

If Alabama is in the dance, then the Clemson Tigers must not be far behind. Somehow, the Tigers survived a brutal game against Syracuse before their bye last week.

The quarterback controversy will only heat up after Uiagalelei was benched for star freshman Cade Klubnik. As inconsistent as the offense looks, they can still run the football, and they have a championship-level defense. In our projected playoff, we have Clemson figuring it out, and I have them finishing undefeated and the #2 seed, battling Alabama for the 4th time in the Playoff.

College Football Playoff National Championship

1 Ohio State v 3 Alabama 

Nine weeks into our projections, and we continue to hold the line: Alabama vs Ohio State in the College Football Playoff National Championship. In a rematch from 2021, nearly all the pieces changed. Many teams (Georgia) will have something to say about this projection, but for now, we project the biggest stars in the game to meet in the Land of stars.