Two SEC teams and the first Group of 5 team in the history of the College Football Playoff will play for the national title, as the CFP selection committee revealed No. 1 Alabama, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Georgia and No. 4 Cincinnati as its top four teams Sunday on Selection Day.
Alabama will face Cincinnati in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic and Michigan will face Georgia in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Dec. 31. The winners will play Jan. 10 in the national championship game in Indianapolis. Both semifinal games and the national title game will air on ESPN.
Alabama’s dominant performance in its 41-24 win over Georgia in the SEC championship game catapulted the one-loss Crimson Tide to the top spot.
Michigan’s 42-3 dismantling of Iowa in the Big Ten championship game solidified the Wolverines at No. 2. Georgia dropped to No. 3 in part because of its lopsided loss, but it also stayed behind Michigan because it didn’t have a conference title, while the Wolverines defeated the Hawkeyes soundly on the Big Ten’s biggest stage.
The committee said they gave no consideration to avoiding a rematch between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs in the first round when seeding the teams.