Alright, we’re through the bowls that actually matter, and now it’s time to talk about the SEC Invitational, Other Teams Invited Also. But we DID also talk about some Big Ten games, if that’s more your speed:

Be sure to join our OTE Bowl Pick’em Challenge, if you’d like. Now, let’s get to what the media says is the main event.

The College Football Playoff

Cotton Bowl

#1 Alabama Crimson Tide vs. #4 Cincinnati Bearcats

Dec. 31 | 2:30pm | ESPN | Ala -13.5 | O/U 58

Orange Bowl

#2 Michigan Wolverines vs. #3 Georgia Bulldogs

Dec. 31 | 6:30pm | ESPN | UGA -7.5 | O/U 43.5

Are there any egregious screw-jobs or seeding errors here?

BRT: I’d have liked to have seen Alabama and Georgia in this round, so that we could get the boring rematch out of the way, instead of having it be the championship game and listening to the announcers salivate over it the entirety of the first two playoff games.

Kind of...: Nope. Which is unfortunate. The CFP committee didn’t have to do anything egregious to get the outcome they wanted. Gary Barta got off easy, as he always does.

Stew: Egregious? Nah it’s close enough. It sucks, but is about right.

misdreavus79: Cincinnati finally broke through for the group of five! What’s their reward? ALABAMA BABY! Other than that, we knew since week 2 that Alabama and Georgia were locked in, and now we know what order. That’s about it.

MNW: It feels like we take on a learned helplessness over time—so beaten down by Gary Barta’s twisted logic week in, week out, that it’s just natural that both Alabama and Georgia are in the CFP. It’s preordained, after all.

That said, I’m with BRT. Georgia should’ve dropped to #4 in the polls and set up a rematch—we should not be obligated to watch unfairly seeded games just because the Committee wants to avoid pitting the same teams against one another in the playoff. If you’re actually seeding teams 1-4, seed the teams—don’t start with a thesis and work backwards.

What are they, one of my students writing a research paper?

How do you feel about Michigan’s chances against Georgia?

BRT: Michigan has been playing really well lately, so that’s good for them. I make it a point to never watch SEC games, but I’ve been told that up until this weekend, Georgia was an unstoppable juggernaut. Now, I guess, they aren’t. It’s a tall order for Michigan, but not impossible, IMO—I also think it’s somewhat likely that Georgia buys into the pro-SEC sports press that only the SEC can beat the SEC and overlooks Michigan a bit.

Kind of...: They’re a deserved underdog, but the path to victory isn’t all that improbable. Their lines will have to hold up, they’ll need to avoid turnovers, and they’ll need to win special teams. I don’t think it will happen, but it strikes me as a 60/40 game.

Stew: Georgia’s offense really isn’t all that great, and if the DEs can get home on Bennett, I think they’ve got a shot, but I still think they’re a decided underdog.

misdreavus79: The secret is out. Georgia’s offense isn’t all that great, but, unlike Iowa, no one forced them to have to rely on offense to win. Until Alabama did it of course. If Michigan wants to replicate the formula, they’re going to have to do the exact same thing they did in the Big Ten Championship game, which is to find ways to score quickly. Because, just like Iowa, the more time you give Georgia’s defense to bail their inept offense out, the more likely that is to happen.

WSR: Michigan just beat 3-star Iowa, so now they get 5-star Iowa. I’m actually more excited about this than most other games. The downside here is that 1) We’re going to get more talk about Bo and how proud he is looking up at Jim Harbaugh and THE TEAM THE TEAM THE TEAM, and 2) If Georgia wins, people will think this makes Kirby Smart a good coach. And he is most certainly not a good coach.

Pick the games and your College Football Playoff winner.

BRT: Cinci def. Alabama and Michigan def. Georgia, then Cinci def. Michigan. Hey, why not? It would be the most chaotic and hilarious outcome, so even if it’s not likely, that’s what I’m rooting for.

Kind of...: Alabama over Georgia to win it all. Ratings will be low, and there will be mewling just like there was after Alabama/LSU 10 years ago. And look how far we’ve come since then!

Stew: Tide rolls, Georgia squeaks by MI, and the Tide roll again in the title game. Eat at Arby’s.

misdreavus79: CINCINNATI SHOCKS THE WORLD!

WSR: Bama sneaks by Cincinnati, Michigan wins uncomfortably, and Bama beats the everloving dogcrap out of Michigan.

MNW: ‘Bama handles Cincinnati just fine, Georgia scrapes past Michigan, and I stop paying attention. Let me know what happens.

BoilerUp89: Hoping my grad school Cincinnati wins. I follow zero percent of their athletics, but it would be fun for the university and the city. Also Alabama, Georgia, and Michigan are the worst. So I’ll take Cincinnati to win it all!

The bigger question is whether I watch the CFP for the first time ever since they finally put new and exciting teams in?