College Football Playoff picture: Georgia, Michigan, TCU, Ohio State; plus New Year’s Six picks

The School Soccer Playoff pairing can be unveiled Sunday, however the query is not which 4 groups are in. 

It is the order by which the committee will put them that may be a main dilemma after a couple of convention championship shockers. No. 11 Utah clobbered No. 4 USC 47-24 within the Pac-12 championship, which knocked the Trojans out. No. 10 Kansas State then beat No. 4 TCU 31-28 in extra time within the Massive 12 championship sport. 

Are the Horned Frogs nonetheless in? We get the temptation. These losses may tempt the School Soccer Playoff committee to bump No. 5 Ohio State and No. 6 Alabama into the CFP and create a blue-blooded, TV scores bonanza. 

That is not the dilemma we’re speaking about. TCU and Ohio State are in. Alabama is out, until the committee desires to throw out its precedent that no two-loss group has made the CFP. 

MORE: How you can watch CFP Choice Present

Who will the committee put up towards No. 1 Georgia, which hammered No. 14 LSU 50-30 within the SEC championship sport. Would the committee justify bumping up Ohio State to No. 3 and placing the Horned Frogs at No. 4? Or will the committee reward TCU for enjoying in a convention championship sport by conserving them within the No. 3 seed. We expect it is Ohio State, and Georgia will play them within the CFP semifinal on the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Dec. 31. 

Meaning No. 2 Michigan – which received the Massive Ten championship sport towards Purdue 43-22 – within the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl towards the Horned Frogs. The Wolverines won’t have a rematch with the Buckeyes – no less than not but. 

With that, listed here are SN’s remaining CFP predictions for 2022:

Ultimate School soccer rankings 2022

4 within the School Soccer Playoff 

1. Georgia (13-0)

There can be minimal debate in regards to the No. 1 seed. Georgia beat LSU 50-30 within the SEC championship sport, and the reigning nationwide champions have an ideal document heading into this 12 months’s playoff. Stetson Bennett (23 of 29, 274 yards) had 4 TD passes within the first half in constructing a 35-10 halftime lead, and Kendall Milton (8-113) keyed a dashing assault that rolled up 255 yards. The Tigers had 502 passing yards in catch-up mode, however they solely managed 47 dashing yards. Georgia had signature victories towards Oregon and Tennessee alongside the way in which within the common season, and Kirby Sensible has this group in place to win back-to-back nationwide championships with a possible semifinal on the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The one query is whether or not it is going to be TCU or Ohio State on the opposite sideline. 

MORE: Ultimate bowl projections forward of Choice Present

2. Michigan (13-0) 

Michigan broke up a decent sport with two third-quarter TDs and held off Purdue within the remaining quarter. The Wolverines clinched a second straight Massive Ten championship and this system’s first 13-win season in class historical past. Now, can Jim Harbaugh take the subsequent step with the Wolverines? J.J. McCarthy threw three TD passes, and Donovan Edwards rushed for 185 yards and a TD instead of Blake Corum, who had season-ending knee surgical procedure. Michigan has signature victories towards Penn State and Ohio State, and that is adequate to lock up the No. 2 seed. Michigan’s protection was in additional of a bend-but-don’t-break-mode the final two weeks towards Ohio State and Purdue, which is able to want tightened up with the intention to make a critical nationwide championship run. Georgia beat the Wolverines 34-11 within the semifinals final 12 months. Will this 12 months be completely different? 

3. TCU (12-1) 

May the Horned Frogs actually keep put within the CFP rankings regardless of the loss within the Massive 12 championship sport? TCU misplaced by three factors in a rematch towards an opponent they beat within the common season. They’ve a victory towards Kansas State and No. 20 Texas, and Max Duggan must be within the combine for the Heisman Trophy after totaling 251 passing yards and 110 dashing yards towards the Wildcats. The massive query: How will the committee understand the Horned Frogs now? Ohio State and Alabama have more-talented rosters, however first-year coach Sonny Dykes’ earned it on the sphere within the common season and performed in a convention championship sport whereas these different groups stayed residence. That thirteenth knowledge level retains TCU at No. 3 – and we can be stunned in the event that they fall to No. 4. 

MORE: Duggan almost collapses after game-tying drive

4. Ohio State (11-1) 

Choose the Buckeyes for not enjoying on convention championship weekend at your individual peril. Ohio State has victories towards No. 8 Penn State and No. 21 Notre Dame on its resume, and the Buckeyes received 11 video games by double digits earlier than shedding 45-23 at residence to No. 2 Michigan on Nov. 26. Sure, that was a meltdown at residence, and that leaves the committee with some attention-grabbing decisions. Do you reward the Buckeyes for sitting at residence? Do you cut up the 2 Massive Ten groups and tease a nationwide championship sport between the Buckeyes and Wolverines – which might be The Recreation of all video games if it involves fruition? Bear in mind, Ohio State was ranked No. 3 within the remaining CFP rankings in 2016 – they usually did not play within the Massive Ten championship sport that 12 months both. A rematch with Michigan is not out of the query within the semis, which might be the primary of its sort. 

Two out 

5. Alabama (10-2) 

No two-loss group has ever made the School Soccer Playoff, and the Crimson Tide can be on the surface wanting in. Would the Crimson Tide be favored on a impartial website towards TCU and Ohio State? That is an attention-grabbing hypothetical query, nevertheless it’s not sufficient to excuse the 52-49 loss to Tennessee on Oct. 15 and the 32-31 loss to LSU on Nov. 5. One other drawback with the argument with the Horned Frogs: TCU beat Texas 17-10 on Nov. 12, which was a wider margin than the Crimson Tide’s 20-19 victory towards Texas on Sept. 10. Nick Saban can attempt to play politics, and sure, the Crimson Tide could be a tricky out within the four-team playoff. The straightforward fact, nevertheless, is that Alabama should accept a berth within the Sugar Bowl – doubtless towards Massive 12 champion Kansas State. 

MORE: Saban campaigns to get Alabama in playoff

6. Tennessee (10-2) 

A part of the issue with Alabama’s case is that Tennessee has that head-to-head victory towards the Crimson Tide. One other ugly fact: Alabama is nearer to No. 6 than No. 4 due to that loss. This is not in regards to the season-ending harm to Hendon Hooker, however extra of a penalty for a 63-38 loss at South Carolina on Nov. 19. That, coupled with the one-sided 27-13 loss to Georgia on Nov. 5, goes to knock the Volunteers right down to the Orange Bowl. It is nonetheless a significant step in the appropriate path for second-year coach Josh Heupel, however simply not sufficient to slide into the highest 4. 

New Yr’s Six Predictions 

School Soccer Playoff Predictions 

School Soccer Playoff Predictions