ESPN has released its top ten contenders for the 2021 College Football Playoff and Georgia football is named at No. 4, behind defending national champion Alabama at No. 1, Clemson at No. 2 and Oklahoma at No. 3.
Alabama, Clemson and Georgia are no surprise here. The Bulldogs return nine starters on offense, including their leading passer in quarterback JT Daniels, the leading rusher in running back Zamir White and leading receivers Kearis Jackson and George Pickens.
Georgia did lose six defensive starters, but retained the middle of the defensive front, featuring Devonte Wyatt and Jordan Davis. Experienced linebackers Channing Tindall and Nakobe Dean will be leading a young but talented secondary, including star safety Lewis Cine.
The Crimson Tide are losing a large percentage of their production, but coach Nick Saban will reload behind the arm of Bryce Young, 2020’s No. 1 ranked dual-threat quarterback, paired with the nations No. 1 ranked recruiting class this year.
Clemson loses stars Trevor Lawrence and Travis Etienne to the NFL, but second-year quarterback D.J Uiagalelei steps in as the No. 1 ranked pro passer in the 2020 recruiting class and will be helped by a stout Tigers defense, who is set to return all 11 of its starters from last season.
The outlier here is Oklahoma, who finished second in the Big 12 in 2020 with a record of 9-2 on the year, 6-2 in conference play. The Sooners are most likely getting looks as a contender due to the play of young quarterback Spencer Rattler. The sophomore was the No. 1 ranked pro-passer in the 2019 recruiting class and put up good numbers as the starter in 2020. Rattler won’t be the problem, it is the Oklahoma defense that seems to always be a crutch. In 2020, Oklahoma ranked 83rd in passing yards allowed per game at 245 per contest.
Here is ESPN’s full list of title contenders:
- Alabama
- Clemson
- Oklahoma
- Georgia
- Ohio State
- Texas A&M
- North Carolina
- Iowa State
- USC
- Indianna
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