With the conference championship games out of the way, it was time to decide the four teams competing for the NCAA championship, and the CFP selection committee revealed Sunday morning that No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 Cincinnati will do the honors.
Alabama will face Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic, and Michigan will play Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl. The two winners will face each other in the championship game on January 10 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Alabama stated their case by knocking off Georgia, the former No. 1 team, in a 41-24 blowout in the SEC championship game. The Crimson Tide exposed the Bulldogs’ usually sound two-high coverages with their cadre of receivers, and quarterback Bryce Young completed 26 of 41 passes for 421 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions against a defense that had allowed 6.9 points per game.
The 12-1 Michigan Wolverines, fresh off a 42-3 demolition of Iowa in the Big Ten Championship, will face a 13-0 Cincinnati team that just beat up on Houston, 35-20, in the American Athletic Conference championship game.