Finally, the moment we have all been waiting for! The Georgia Bulldogs officially punched their ticket into the College Football Playoff by wiping the floor with the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship. Despite the 21-point neutral-site victory over them, Georgia and Alabama did not move at all in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Alabama had to really sweat it out, though..
Although the Dawgs were unfairly given the No. 3 seed in this playoff field, it might actually be a bit of a blessing in disguise for them. This may give them an easier pathway to a national title than being the No. 2 seed. The Selection Committee decided to swap places with Indiana beating Ohio State in the Big Ten championship, and spent no other time on the argument when it came to the top-four seeds.
So here are the final College Football Playoff rankings after the conference championship games...
- Indiana Hoosiers (13-0)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1)
- Georgia Bulldogs (12-1)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1)
- Oregon Ducks (11-1)
- Ole Miss Rebels (11-1)
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-1)
- Oklahoma Sooners (10-2)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3)
- Miami Hurricanes (10-2)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2)
- BYU Cougars (11-2)
- Texas Longhorns (9-3)
- Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2)
- Utah Utes (10-2)
- USC Trojans (9-3)
- Arizona Wildcats (9-3)
- Michigan Wolverines (9-3)
- Virginia Cavaliers (10-2)
- Tulane Green Wave (11-2)
- Houston Cougars (9-3)
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-3)
- Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4)
- James Madison Dukes (12-1)
- North Texas Mean Green (11-2)
Now that we have all of that information, let's take a look at who actually ended up making the field.
College Football Playoff bracket after the final rankings
Based on the criteria of the College Football Playoff, these are the 12 teams that made it in this year.
- Indiana Hoosiers (13-0): Big Ten champion
- Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1): Big Ten runner-up
- Georgia Bulldogs (12-1): SEC champion
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1): Big 12 champion
- Oregon Ducks (11-1): Big Ten at-large
- Ole Miss Rebels (11-1): SEC at-large
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-1): SEC at-large
- Oklahoma Sooners (10-2): SEC at-large
- Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3): SEC runner-up
- Miami Hurricanes (10-2): ACC at-large
- Tulane Green Wave (11-2): AAC champion
- James Madison Dukes (12-1): Sun Belt champion
Unfortunately, these are the first four teams out of the College Football Playoff field this postseason.
- 13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-2): National independent
- 14. BYU Cougars (11-2): Big 12 runner-up
- 15. Texas Longhorns (9-3): SEC
- 16. Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2): SEC
Georgia being the No. 3 seed means the Dawgs will have plenty of time to rest and recover before their national quarterfinals game. Because they are the SEC champions, Georgia will await the winner of the No. 6 vs. No. 11 first-round game between the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tulane Green Wave in the Sugar Bowl. From there, Georgia needs to win three more games to win a national championship.
Now that we know who has made the field, let's take a look at the first-round byes and matchups.
College Football Playoff first-round matchups and byes
These are the four teams on a bye, as well as the eight teams who will be playing in the first round.
- No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (BYE)
- No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (BYE)
- No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (BYE)
- No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders (BYE)
- No. 5 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 12 James Madison Dukes
- No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 11 Tulane Green Wave
- No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 10 Miami Hurricanes
- No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide
Big Ten champion Indiana, Big Ten runner-up Ohio State, SEC champion Georgia, and Big 12 champion Texas Tech all got first-round byes. Oregon will host Sun Belt champion James Madison in the No. 5 vs. No. 12. Ole Miss gets AAC champion Tulane in the No. 6 vs. No. 11. Texas A&M draws Miami in the No. 7 vs. No. 10. Oklahoma will welcome Alabama to Norman in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game.
Oregon has no issues putting away James Madison in their primetime affair to advance. Ole Miss may defeat Tulane for the second time this season, but it will be a closer game than before. Miami catches Texas A&M sleeping with a shocking home loss for the Aggies. The Hurricanes will advance to the quarterfinals because of it. Oklahoma knocks Alabama out of its misery to move on to the quarters.
So with Oregon, Ole Miss, Miami, and Oklahoma all advancing, let's see who they will be playing next.
College Football Playoff bracket national quarterfinals
With only eight teams left, these would be the four national quarterfinals matchups in this simulation.
- Rose Bowl: No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners
- Cotton Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 10 Miami Hurricanes
- Sugar Bowl: No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels
- Orange Bowl: No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 5 Oregon Ducks
Indiana gets Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State will await Miami in the Cotton Bowl. Georgia will take on Ole Miss for the second time this season in the Sugar Bowl. Texas Tech will be taking its talents to South Beach to take on a very feisty Oregon Ducks team. Some of these games will be blowouts, while others will go down to the wire. Could there be an upset to be had in this round?
Indiana outpaces Oklahoma, who struggles to score in general. Ohio State picks off Carson Beck three times to end his college career and Miami's season. Kirby Smart and Georgia take advantage of Ole Miss having a depleted staff and beats the Rebels with margin in New Orleans. The best game of the round will be in the Orange Bowl with Jacob Rodriguez forcing a Dante Moore turnover to win it.
So yes, this round was chalk with Indiana, Ohio State, Georgia, and Texas Tech all advancing further.
College Football Playoff bracket national semifinals
These would be the two national semifinals matchups at this stage of the playoff bracket simulation.
- Peach Bowl: No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs
Indiana will choose the Peach Bowl, where it will meet Texas Tech in Atlanta. Ohio State will have to take on Georgia in the Fiesta Bowl over in Greater Phoenix. While there is a chance all four of these teams could conceivably win a national championship from this point on, only one of them is going to. Again, it is all about the matchups. So who gets a favorable one in this round, and who does not at all?
Indiana has too strong of an offense for Texas Tech to win a shootout. The Hoosiers probably win by multiple scores, but Texs Tech upsetting this is not out of the question. Indiana still prevails to make it to the national championship. The Fiesta Bowl will be a total slobber knocker of a game. Either team can win this one. Let's take Georgia because Kirby Smart is the superior head coach over Ryan Day.
Indiana cruises to the national championship, while Georgia survives a major scare from Ohio State.
College Football Playoff bracket national championship
So who is going to win the Tom Crean Bowl between Georgia and Indiana in the national title bout?
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game: No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs
Miami is Fernando Mendoza's hometown. It is also the one NFL organization where Kirby Smart worked in his illustrious coaching career for Nick Saban. It will be a clash of two of the most well-coached teams in the country. Surely, either team can win the national championship. However, Georgia has a bit more depth and a more dominant ground game, which is why the beat Indiana.
Overall, Georgia getting an easier national quarterfinals matchup than Ohio State may reveal a few things to help them get past the Buckeyes when it counts. There is a chance that Smart may use Ohio State being ranked over them, despite not winning its league, as a major rallying point for his Georgia team. Georgia will need to beat two Big Ten teams, as well as one out of the southeastern footprint...
The Dawgs now what is ahead of them, but only they can control their national championship destiny.