The Michigan Wolverines, the Washington Huskies, the Texas Longhorns and the Alabama Crimson Tide are the four teams that will play in this year’s College Football Playoff. The fifth ranked Florida State Seminoles and the sixth ranked Georgia Bulldogs will play in the Capital One Orange Bowl on Saturday, December 30th at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 PM Eastern.
Georgia missed out on an opportunity to participate in the CFP after suffering a 27-24 loss to Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Championship game. Over the last three seasons, the Georgia Bulldogs are 40-0. However, the only team to beat Georgia is Alabama. They’ve lost two out of three games against the Tide. Moreover, the Georgia Bulldogs have never beaten the Tide inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“It seems like this is the year that it should be the four best teams, because you can make a case for deserving for everybody. It’s unfortunate that these kids who give so much and play so hard, not just at Georgia, all these schools, they don’t get to decide it really on the field,” Kirby Smart said during a press conference. “It’s sitting back with a committee who has to determine who the best four teams are. If it’s truly the four best teams, let’s put the four best teams in.”
Here is a heaping tablespoon of salt to add to Georgia’s wounds: Alabama is 8-0 inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Tide fans have referred to the Home of the Atlanta Falcons as “Bryant-Denny East.”
There was history made The No. 1 team in the penultimate rankings fell outside the Top 4 (Georgia) at the final hurdle. Also, undefeated power five team is left out (Florida State). The Seminoles are the first team in the history of the CFP to win their conference championship and not make the top four. Quarterback Jordan Travis voiced his opinions with the belief that if he hadn’t suffered a broken leg against Northern Alabama, Florida State would participate in the playoffs.
According to Boo Corrigan, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee chair, Florida State is a different team without Jordan Travis. One of the things the committee considered is player availability, and their job is to rank the best teams, and in the final decision looking at that, it was Alabama at 4 and Florida State at 5.
“Devastated. Heartbroken. In so much disbelief right now,” Travis wrote in a post. “I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top-four rankings. I am so sorry. Go ‘Noles!”
Florida State head coach Mike Norvell also expressed his disappointment in not making the top four.
“I am disgusted and infuriated with the committee’s decision today to have what was earned on the field taken away because a small group of people decided they knew better than the results of the games,” Norvell said. “What is the point of playing games? Do you tell players it is okay to quit if someone goes down? Do you not play a senior on Senior Day for fear of injury? Where is the motivation to schedule challenging non-conference games? We are not only an undefeated P5 conference champion, but we also played two P5 non-conference games away from home and won both of them. I don’t understand how we are supposed to think this is an acceptable way to evaluate a team.”
Ole Miss returns to The Benz to face Penn State in the Peach Bowl
Ole Miss will face the Penn State Nittany Lions for the first time ever at the Peach Bowl. It will be the third time the Rebels will play in Atlanta’s New Year’s Six bowl game. Ole Miss won it in 1971 against Georgia Tech and it lost in 2014 against TCU.
This season, Ole Miss finished the regular season 10-2 with losses to Alabama and Georgia. With a victory, Ole Miss would secure its first 11-win season in program history.
Meanwhile, Penn State’s hopes to make the College Football Playoff were dashed after losses to Ohio State and Michigan. However, head coach James Franklin has a defense that has allowed 11.4 points per game while conceding 223.3 yards per game. Penn State also touts a top-15 scoring offense.
The Nittany Lions will open as a 2.5-point favorite over the Rebels, according to lines released by FanDuel. The over/under has been set at 47.5.
Kickoff will be Noon on Saturday, December 30th on ESPN.