Georgia Bulldogs (1) vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (4):

The Georgia Bulldogs and Ohio State Buckeyes will face off against each other in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. The game will kick off at 5 pm Pacific time on New Year’s Eve.

The Bulldogs have been number one in the AP Top 25 for nearly every week of this year’s college football season. Coming off a National Championship win last year over the Alabama Crimson Tide, many thought the Bulldogs would struggle to find the same success this year because of all of the talent they lost to the NFL draft. Out of the first-round draft picks, the Bulldogs lost 5 players in the draft, including first-overall pick Travon Walker who is now a player for the Jacksonville Jaguars on the defensive side of the ball. Instead, the Bulldogs continued their winning habits and finished the season with an undefeated record and as Southeastern Conference (SEC) Champions.

Quarterback Stetson Bennett IV continued his solid play this season and built on his comeback story. Bennett IV was even named a Heisman finalist for his leadership and steady play. The Bulldogs, led by Head Coach Kirby Smart, had a trio of wins by a comfortable margin that bolstered them to the top spot in the polls by the end of the year. 

With a 49-3 win over the Oregon Ducks to open the year, a 27-13 win over Tennessee who was ranked number one in the AP Top 25 at one point in time, and a convincing 50-30 win over LSU to win the SEC Championship, the Bulldogs have proved themselves time and time again. 

The Bulldogs’ biggest game of the season up to this point will be against the Buckeyes in Atlanta, Georgia. While labeled a neutral site, this game will bring quite the home-field advantage for the Bulldogs as the stadium is just over a 70-mile drive from the University of Georgia Campus in Athens. For context, Ohio State University is over 550 miles away. The Bulldogs hope to build off of this “home crowd” and the success they have garnered over the course of the season to boost them to a National Championship appearance.

The Buckeyes have had an excellent season, but one week left a blemish on their record. Up to their home match against Michigan, the Buckeyes were undefeated and found themselves in the upper echelon of the AP Top 25 rankings every week. That all changed when they found themselves on the wrong end of a 22-point blowout. 

This embarrassment pushed the Buckeyes out of the playoff momentarily. At the five spot heading into championship weekend, the Buckeyes in no sense of the word controlled their own destiny as they didn’t qualify for the Big-10 Championship. They needed a loss from the USC Trojans in the PAC-12 Championship because, at that point, they had hold of the four seed. The Buckeyes got what they needed after USC squandered an early 14-point lead and lost to the Utah Utes.

To the dismay of the Trojans, Ohio State regained their position in the top four later that week as they were announced as the final team to sneak into the College Football Playoff. The Buckeyes could prove to be a dangerous team once they make it into the Playoff because — barring the one embarrassment against Michigan — they have had an excellent season. 

The quarterback to wide receiver connection that CJ Stroud and Marvin Harrison Jr. have had thus far has been nearly unstoppable. Heisman finalist CJ Stroud has had 37 passing touchdowns with 3,340 passing yards as well. Harrison Jr. also filled up the stat sheet this year with over 1,000 yards and 12 touchdowns receiving. Thanks to their offensive explosiveness, this is the Buckeyes’ fifth College Football Playoff appearance since it was introduced nearly ten years ago. The Buckeyes hope to build off of that experience and return back to their winning habits.

Brett: Each of these programs has seen a lot of success in recent years and both sides have a lot of experience in the College Football Playoff under the bright lights. I do expect the Bulldogs to win by a score of 45-28 since I don’t see the Buckeyes’ defense showing the ability to slow down the Bulldogs’ potent offense.

Brooks: These might be the two best programs in the country, but while Ohio State has an incredible offense, Georgia is a juggernaut on offense and defense. They’ve already shown the ability to shut down top offenses, and that’s why I have the Bulldogs winning 33-23.

Michigan Wolverines (2) vs. TCU Horned Frogs (3):

For this year’s Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, the Michigan Wolverines and TCU Horned Frogs will be battling it out in State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona for a spot in the National Championship. 

The Wolverines have been dominant the entire season, and no game was a better example of that than their 45-23 beat down over the Ohio State Buckeyes. Up to that point in the season, experts had been dismissive of the Wolverines because of their weak strength of schedule. They had only played against one ranked team before the matchup in Columbus. 

Something to keep an eye on as this game progresses is the running game of the Wolverines. They will be without their star running back Blake Corum, who is out for the rest of the season with a knee injury that prompted surgery. Corum has been a star for the Wolverines this year with nearly 1500 yards on the ground and 19 touchdowns from scrimmage. In his absence, Head Coach Jim Harbaugh will need strong and reliable production from sophomore Donovan Edwards. Edwards has proven that he can handle the backfield to himself, rushing for 185 yards and scoring a touchdown in the Wolverines’ rout of Purdue in the Big-10 Championship. 

The two-seeded Wolverines will need another strong performance from Edwards against the Horned Frogs’ defense in order to give their offense another dimension. At the moment, the Wolverines are a touchdown-plus favorite, as they look to continue their victorious streak against a stout Horned Frogs side.

The Horned Frogs are led by standout quarterback Max Duggan, who has had an excellent year. Duggan, who won the Davey O’Brien award as the best passer in college football, has put up outstanding numbers this year with 3,321 yards and 30 touchdowns. Prior to this year, Duggan had never had a season with over 20 touchdown passes. Up until early December, Duggan and the Horned Frogs hadn’t lost a game this season with a 12-0 record. 

They lost in the Big-12 Championship game against the Kansas State Wildcats in overtime, but the committee decided to keep them at the number three spot, thanks in large part to the strength of schedule and the dominance they had displayed earlier in the season. The Horned Frogs started off the season not being ranked and it took until week six for them to be recognized in the AP top 25. 

As the season progressed, Head Coach Sonny Dykes led the Horned Frogs to their first College Football Playoff appearance, making them the first school from Texas to get to the Playoff. The Horned Frogs came close in 2014 but were amongst the first two out of the bracket. 

With the support of Duggan and Dykes, the Horned Frogs look to hand Michigan their first loss of the season and clinch their spot in the National Championship.

Brett: As I look at this matchup, I believe that the Wolverines’ power on both sides of the ball will be too much to handle for the Horned Frogs. The Horned Frogs showed some defensive holes in the Big-12 Championship, which Michigan should be able to take advantage of. I think Michigan will win the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl by a score of 34-20 and advance to the National Championship.

Brooks: TCU has had a Cinderella run to the playoff this year. However, this will be the game where the clock strikes midnight for the Horned Frogs. Michigan simply has too much talent on both sides of the ball. I have the Wolverines winning this one 30-13.

Alabama Crimson Tide (5) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (9)

Alabama once again found itself among the top of the AP Top 25 rankings throughout the course of the year but missed out on the playoffs by one spot. Many of their fans were glued to their phones or televisions when the selection committee chose the top four teams to compete in the College Football Playoff but were disappointed when they didn’t hear Alabama called as a part of that group. Some thought that they may be able to sneak in due to losses by USC and TCU, but the committee didn’t see it as enough to add them to the top four. 

Many experts cited their pair of losses, one being to Tennessee on a game-winning field goal that finished the game with a score of 52-49, and the other being to LSU on a two-point conversion in overtime that concluded the game with a 32-31 score. Instead, this talented roster finds themselves in the Sugar Bowl, preparing to face the Kansas State Wildcats from the Big 12. 

Head Coach Nick Saban has led this group under his reign and has managed to bring in good recruits and coach a roster overflowing with talent each year. While some years might not be as great as others, the expectations, standards, and image that he has created around this football program are second to none.

Quarterback Bryce Young has continued to fill up the stat sheet as the signal caller for Alabama. Through the entirety of the season, he had just over 3,000 yards and 27 touchdowns. Young has also had the help of a strong running back room which is headlined by Jahmyr Gibbs. Gibbs has put up over 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns from scrimmage. His ability to do well on the ground and as a receiving running back has made him a matchup nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators. One of his more impressive performances of the season was when he ran for 206 yards and had two touchdowns on the ground in a big 49-26 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks. 

While the offense has found a lot of success thanks to Young and Gibbs, the defense has been inconsistent at points throughout the season. This side gave up a decent amount of points in matchups against Tennessee, Arkansas, LSU, and Auburn. If Alabama’s defense were to let Kansas State do what it wanted on the offensive end, it could put Alabama in a tough spot come crunch time. Alabama will need to bring their best on both sides of the ball to find success against a sneaky-good Kansas State team.

The Wildcats come into this meeting against the Crimson Tide with a 10-3 record and are coming off a thrilling 31-28 overtime win vs. TCU in the Big 12 Championship. Throughout the season, the Wildcats have been supported by junior running back Deuce Vaughn who racked up 1,425 yards on the ground and 11 touchdowns from scrimmage over the course of the season. Vaughn has shown that he can take over the game on any Saturday, with over 100 rushing yards in 8 of his 13 games. 

The Wildcats have also had the leadership of Head Coach Chris Klieman from the sideline who has had over 11 years of experience as head coach. He’s developed a winning culture in Manhattan over his first few years and continues to find and develop good talent. Over his first four seasons at the helm, Coach Klieman has had three winning seasons—the only exception being during COVID-19 when the Wildcats went 4-5. The example and expectations that he has built for this program play a big role in the success they have had this season. 

The Wildcats have also had a change in quarterback midway through the season due to injury. Adrian Martinez was splendid through his first 9 games, with 16 touchdowns from scrimmage and leading the Wildcats to an adequate 6-3 record. Martinez proved he could dominate through the air and on the ground, with ten of his sixteen touchdowns coming off of rushes. After Martinez went down with a lower-body injury, Will Howard was able to keep the ship afloat and had 15 passing touchdowns with three more on the ground. He also put up 1,423 passing yards. With good quarterback play, a strong game from Deuce Vaughn, and a well-qualified coaching staff, the Wildcats will push Alabama to its limits. 

Brett: I see Kansas State winning this game by a score of 37-34. I think that Alabama will be too caught up in not making the College Football Playoff and not have the strongest focus which will hurt them. I predict that Deuce Vaughn will go off and rip apart the Alabama defense with his powerful running.

Brooks: Alabama is by far the more talented team in this encounter. However, as Brett said, the buy-in may not be as high for the Crimson Tide as in years past because of missing the playoff. Kansas State will also be energized by the return of Adrian Martinez. Because of that, I have the Wildcats getting a 33-31 victory.

USC Trojans (10) vs. Tulane Green Wave (16)

USC has been completely transformed this year. Head coach Lincoln Riley stunned the college football world last summer when he decided to leave perennial Playoff contender Oklahoma for the sunny skies of Los Angeles. With him, he brought superstar sophomore quarterback Caleb Williams, along with an army of transfers that included 2021 Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison. The Trojans essentially had a brand new team this year, allowing them to do a complete 180 from their 4-8 finish last year.

USC rolled through their schedule early, starting 6-0 thanks to Williams’ spectacular play. They hit a snag with a 43-42 loss at Utah but were able to secure back-to-back ranked wins against Notre Dame and UCLA. This put them at the No. 4 spot in the top 25 and positioned the Trojans for a College Football Playoff berth if they could get past Utah in the PAC-12 championship.

Unfortunately, the Trojans were completely embarrassed by the Utes. Williams got injured after a fantastic first half, and the Utes hung 49 points on USC’s defense. This knocked the Trojans out of the playoff, but they’re still in a New Year’s Six.

Offensively, the Trojans are led by Williams, who won the Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football. Williams has racked up 4,075 yards and 37 touchdowns through the air, with 10 more touchdowns on the ground. However, Williams isn’t the only player making a difference offensively. The Trojans have an all-star cast at receiver, led by Jordan Addison, who won the Biletnikoff Award for Pitt last year. He’s accompanied by Colorado transfer Brenden Rice and Oklahoma transfer Mario Williams, giving Caleb plenty of weapons to throw to. In the backfield, star running back Travis Dye went down with an injury mid-season. However, Stanford transfer Austin Jones and freshman Raleek Brown have filled in admirably.

While the offense is the star of the show, the defense, while suspect at times, has been able to hold its own. The Trojans have forced 28 turnovers, which is tied with Louisville for 3rd in the nation. This opportunistic style of defense has saved the Trojans multiple times, most notably against Oregon State. Williams had his worst game of the season, but it didn’t matter, as the defense intercepted Chance Nolan 4 times to win 17-14. However, despite their ability to force turnovers, the defense has been badly exposed at times. USC’s success in this game may come down to whether their defense can stop the Green Wave.

Tulane has been a Jekyll-and-Hyde type of program over the last couple of years. They enjoyed a quality pandemic-shortened 2020 season before enduring an absolute nightmare last year. The Green Wave were a putrid 2-10, and seemingly everything that could go wrong went wrong for Tulane.

However, this year they’ve flipped that record around, going 10-2 and winning the AAC, which is the toughest non-power five conference. Tulane opened their season with a shocking 17-10 upset over Kansas State, the eventual Big 12 champions. They then turned around and were upset by Southern Miss. But after this, the Green Wave cruised through the rest of their schedule, with the highlight being ending Cincinnati’s 32-game winning streak at home. Their only other loss was a 38-31 slip-up against UCF, but they were able to avenge this and defeat the Golden Knights in the AAC championship to advance to the Cotton Bowl. 

Offensively, Tulane is a balanced group. Everything runs through junior Michael Pratt, a dual-threat quarterback who makes plays with his arm and his legs. Pratt passed for 2,776 yards and scored 35 total touchdowns this year. However, the star of the show is running back Tyjae Spears, who racked up over 1,500 scrimmage yards and 17 total touchdowns. 

On defense, the Green Wave is led by the linebacker tandem of Dorian Willams and Nick Anderson. Both had over 100 total tackles, while Williams also had five sacks, two interceptions, and two forced fumbles. Safety Macon Clark is also a major contributor, with 64 tackles and five forced turnovers.

Brooks: Tulane has been a fun story, but USC is simply far more talented than the Green Wave. Caleb Williams is the best player in college football, and he might make this one a blowout. The Trojans will win 45-14.

Brett: Each of these teams just came off conference championships that ended very differently. While USC lost in a nail-biter, and Tulane is enjoying the high of an American Athletic Conference (AAC) victory, I see the Trojans taking this one. With Caleb Williams coming off a Heisman victory and being welcomed into that prestigious group of players, I see him playing with a swagger that can’t be stopped by the Green Waves in a 54-24 rout.

Tennessee Volunteers (6) Vs. Clemson Tigers (7)

Tennessee is one of the greatest and most storied programs in college football, with a national championship and a winning history to its name. That is, up until about 20 years ago. Ever since legendary head coach Phil Fulmer resigned in 2008, Tennessee has been one of the most scandal-filled and chaotic programs in the country. Success has been rare over the last decade and a half, with bad coaching hire after bad coaching hire putting the Volunteers in a very dark place. 

But everything changed this year (on Rocky Top/in Knoxville). Head coach Josh Heupel arrived last year from UCF and installed his spread offense, which gave the Vols a 7-6 record in 2021. Tennessee could score on anyone, but their defense was awful. However, everything exploded this year. 

The Vols started the season 8-0, with the high point being their 52-49 win over Alabama, their first in 15 years. Some may remember this game because Tennessee fans tore the goalposts down and dumped them in the Tennessee River after the surprising win. However, after ascending to the no. 1 ranking, the Vols fell 27-13 to Georgia, and two weeks later, they were embarrassed 63-38 at South Carolina, which ended their hopes for a college football playoff berth. They finished the season with a 10-2 record.

Tennessee lives and dies with its offense. The Vols scored 47.2 points per game, which was the best in the country. Quarterback Hendon Hooker was the Heisman frontrunner until suffering a torn ACL against South Carolina, so Joe Milton III will be starting in his stead. The Michigan transfer has a cannon for an arm but has been plagued with accuracy issues his entire career.

Even without Hooker, the Vols still have a plethora of dangerous playmakers. Biletnikoff award-winning receiver Jalin Hyatt is a threat to score on any play, and Cedric Tillman, a great receiver in his own right, is his partner in crime on the outside. Running back Jabari Small is a nice complement to their prolific passing attack, and tight end Princeton Fant is versatile and reliable. Tennessee spreads out its formations and can attack a defense in a ton of different ways.

The performance of the defense will dictate Tennessee’s success in this game. They have been suspect all year, but they’ve generally done just enough to allow the offense to shoot people out. However, good offenses have exposed them this year, as they gave up 49 in their win over Alabama and a staggering 63 points in their loss at South Carolina. This defense is leaps and bounds ahead of what it was last year, but it has held this team back at times.

The Clemson Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide have been the two foremost programs in college football over the past decade. Ever since Ohio State and Oregon played for the national championship in 2014, either Clemson or Alabama has appeared in each national championship since.

Clemson hasn’t been to the playoff for the last two years. Despite this “downturn,” the Tigers are still pretty good. They finished with an 11-2 record, going undefeated in conference play and winning the ACC championship.

However, their record is a little bit misleading — four of their wins have been by 10 points or less, including a 51-45 overtime thriller over Wake Forest that the Demon Deacons probably should have won. This luck ran out against Notre Dame, as the Irish smoked the then-undefeated Tigers 35-14. A couple of weeks later, they lost 32-31 to rivals South Carolina, effectively ending their Playoff aspirations.

Offensively, the Tigers are led by sophomore running back Will Shipley, who racked up over 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 15 touchdowns. But make no mistake, this team goes as its quarterback situation goes. Junior DJ Uiagalelei was the fifth-ranked player in the country coming out of high school, and he showed a lot of promise as a freshman before enduring a nightmare sophomore year. He has rebounded nicely this year, but a string of poor performances to end the year caused coach Dabo Swinney to give him the hook for true freshman Cade Klubnik. Klubnik is highly touted but untested, and it will be fascinating to see how he does in his first career start against the Vols.

Defensively, the Tigers have an all-star defensive line, led by defensive tackle Bryan Bresee and defensive end Myles Murphy. This pair of former five-stars wreaks havoc on opposing quarterbacks. Behind them is star linebacker Trenton Simpson. However, their secondary is relatively untested and could be the key to cracking this defense open. The ACC doesn’t have a lot of great passers, but when the Tigers faced pass-happy Wake Forest, they were lit up for 337 yards and six touchdowns by quarterback Sam Hartman. 

Brooks: This game should be a fun one, but even without Hendon Hooker, I don’t expect the Tigers to be able to keep pace with Tennessee’s high-octane offense, especially with Cade Klubnik making his first career start. I expect the Volunteers’ passing attack to overwhelm Clemson’s suspect secondary. The Vols will take this one 48-31.

Brett: Each of these teams has shown their ability to score with the best of them and win convincingly. With a back-and-forth game that doesn’t disappoint, I see the Tigers taking this one 33-32 behind a legendary performance from Will Shipley.

Utah Utes (8) vs. Penn State Nittany Lions (11)

The Utah Utes have had an excellent second half of their season, going 6-1 and qualifying them for a fourth PAC 12 Championship appearance in the last five years. The Utes were able to defend their PAC 12 championship crown and go back-to-back by taking down the USC Trojans 47-24. The Utes found themselves down in that game by a score of 17-3 but responded with a 44-7 run that took the game out of doubt. At one point early in the second quarter, the Utes were given only a 16% chance to win, according to ESPN Analytics. 

This was a statement win for the Utes, as it knocked USC out of the college football playoff and added another chapter to Cameron Rising’s legacy for the Utes. Rising is the quarterback for the Utes and has had an excellent season with nearly 3,000 yards through the air and 31 total touchdowns. Besides his outstanding PAC 12 Championship, Rising proved that he had USC’s number earlier in the season as well. On October 15, 2022, Rising had 475 yards and 5 total touchdowns from scrimmage that propelled the Utes to a nail-biting 43-42 win. 

Each of these wins asserted the Utes over USC as they gave them costly losses in the most important moments of the season. This is just one example and testament to the Utes’ prolific and electrifying offense, which has averaged 40 points per game over the course of the season up to this point. Other than Rising, the tight end room – and specifically senior Dalton Kincaid – has been a consistent safety valve and option for Rising as the season progressed. After losing star tight end Brant Kuithe to a season-ending injury, Kincaid has taken full advantage of his opportunity. Kincaid has had 890 yards and eight touchdowns receiving which have cemented him as an excellent opportunity. 

With longtime Head Coach Kyle Wittingham’s leadership and balance, and Rising’s spectacular and splendid play, the Utes will give the Nittany Lions all that they can handle.

The Nittany Lions enter the Rose Bowl with a 10-2 record. They have been led on the sidelines by Head Coach James Franklin who was appointed for the position in early 2014. Over his years as a Nittany Lion, he has built up this program very nicely and given their fan base a lot to be proud of. 

This year, the Nittany Lions had the help of freshman running back Nicholas Singleton on the offensive side of the ball who has offered great relief in the running game. Filling up the stat sheet with nearly 1,000 yards on the ground and 10 rushing touchdowns, Singleton has proved himself as a true running back talent that the Nittany Lions could turn to. Notably, Singleton had 303 yards and four touchdowns over a two-game period in mid-September which helped in developing trust in the coaching staff that allowed him to get more touches going forward. 

Along with Singleton, senior quarterback Sean Clifford continued his campaign as a Nittany Lion with 2,543 yards and 22 touchdowns in the passing games. Over the course of the season, Clifford had five games with three or more passing touchdowns over the course of sixty minutes. 

While on paper the record for the Nittany Lions looks appealing, that doesn’t tell the full story. The Nittany Lions’ two losses came to the Michigan Wolverines and Ohio State Buckeyes. These were the only two ranked teams that they faced this year and a major reason why the committee didn’t see them as a viable option for the playoff. Another reason why the committee didn’t look at the Nittany Lions like the other perennial teams in college football is because of their weak strength of schedule and how they didn’t have any statement wins on the year. When the Nittany Lions faced off against the Wolverines, they lost 41-17, and when they matched up against the Ohio State Buckeyes, they fell by a score of 44-31. 

The Nittany Lions have had a pretty opportunistic defense though, which forced 12 interceptions and had 12 fumble recoveries. With a good defensive showing and stellar games from Clifford and Singleton, the Nittany Lions could find themselves biting into some roses when the game comes to a close.

Brooks: Utah is just too good offensively for Penn State to keep up in this one. Utah also has a first-team All-American at a corner and Sean Clifford is quite turnover-prone, so expect Utah to force some turnovers. I have the Utes winning 39-24.

Brett: I expect the Nittany Lions to put up a good fight in this one, but struggle to keep up offensively with Cameron Rising and the Utah passing attack. I see the Utes winning the Rose Bowl by a score of 48-37.