Playoffs: Alabama vs Cincinnati, Michigan vs Georgia | Nationwide

Irving, Texas (AP) — Cincinnati will play Alabama, and Michigan will face Georgia as a surprise freefield was set up on Sunday after being selected for the College Football Playoff on New Year’s Eve.

The fourth seeded Cincinnati will be the first team to break through the glass ceiling of college football and reach the CFP from non-Power Five meetings. Bearcats (13-0) will win the American Athletic Conference and head for the postseason as the only undefeated team in the country.

Director Luke Fickel and Bearcats have made history almost indisputable. Playoffs selection committee chairman Gary Balta said ESPN had a strong consensus on fourth-placed Cincinnati ahead of fifth-placed Notre Dame, who lost to Bearcats in South Bend, Indiana in early October. Ohio State University finished in 6th place.

The remaining final rankings of the Commission and the other four New Year’s six bowl matches were scheduled to be announced later on Sunday.

Cincinnati’s reward will be against the Cotton Bowl Defending National Champion. Crimson Tide will be the seventh playoff in the eight-year history of the postseason format after bringing Georgia its first defeat of the season in the title game of the Southeastern Conference on Saturday.

Alabama (12-1) appeared to have lost his exclusion from the playoffs for a match against Georgia. Instead, Bryce Young and Tide lit up the bulldog’s proud defenses and won the top seed.

“Alabama not only defeated Georgia, but there was also a way they beat them. They had little control over the game from start to finish,” Balta told ESPN.

Balta said the committee did not consider avoiding a rematch between Tide and the Bulldog in the first round when sowing the team.

Nick Saban’s Alabama dynasty has won three BCS titles in three playoff championships since 2009.

Georgia (12-1) managed to stay on the field as the third seed and became the second team to lose the conference title game and play off. Notre Dame did the same last season when he lost a rematch with Clemson in a season he played at the Atlantic Coast Conference. This move was prompted by a pandemic’s modified schedule.

The bulldog will make his second CFP appearance when he meets the second seeded Michigan (12-1) in the Orange Bowl. Jim Harbaugh and Wolverines will be in the playoffs for the first time after winning the Big Ten for the first time since 2004. Michigan, who won 2-4 last season, is also the first team to play off after being unranked. AP pre-season top 25.

This is the third time two teams from the same meeting have joined the CFP, and the second time it has happened at the SEC. In the 2017 playoffs, Alabama defeated Georgia overtime to win the national title.

The winner of this year’s semi-finals will compete in the National Championships in India Napolis on January 10th.

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Playoffs: Alabama vs Cincinnati, Michigan vs Georgia | Nationwide

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