There’s nothing like some playoff talk in May! 247Sports recently posted its updated college football New Year’s Six bowl projections heading into the summer.
For the most part in the college football world this year, there is a consensus on what programs are in the top tier. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma and Notre Dame.
But when it comes to the New Year’s Six, it’s more about what teams have the best path to the playoffs and which teams could miss out on a top-4 spot while staying in the mix for one of those six special bowl games.
Here is 247Sports’ best guess on what that may look like for 2021…
Ohio State and Alabama make the playoffs and face off in the Cotton Bowl, while Oklahoma meets Clemson in the Orange bowl for the other playoff game.
That leaves Georgia out of the top-4 and facing Iowa State in the Sugar Bowl, with LSU facing North Carolina in the Peach Bowl, Notre Dame versus Coastal Carolina in the Fiesta Bowl and USC versus Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.
These predictions are a good guess but we have to keep in mind that Georgia has a blueprint to make a final four spot. Unless the Bulldogs drop one to Clemson in week-1 in Charlotte and another one in the SEC Championship versus Alabama, you’d be hard press to have UGA out of a top spot. Of course, that depends largely on Clemson and Alabama’s seasons.
If the Tigers and Crimson Tide dominate, Georgia could still make it in with a close loss to both teams. But if UGA beats Clemson and wins out. Georgia could be headed into the SEC Championship versus Bama in a perfect situation. Picture this, an undefeated Georgia with a win over Clemson against an undefeated Alabama… As long as the Bulldogs don’t lose by 40, UGA is in.
A new episode of “UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton” is streaming now! J.C. sits down with former UGA tight end Wix Patton to talk about how he was forced to decide between music and football. Find out why here: