Ohio State Will Face Georgia In Inaugural 12-Team Playoff Says One Analyst

Brad Crawford has the Buckeyes and Bulldogs squaring off in this coming season's championship game. Learn about the path both teams need to take to get there.

Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (18) runs after a catch against Georgia during the second quarter of the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. / Kyle Robertson / USA TODAY NETWORK

Not that long ago, the Ohio State Buckeyes suffered heartbreak after missing a game-winning field goal to defeat the Georgia Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff Semifinal. After narrowly escaping the Buckeyes in Atlanta, the Bulldogs went on to trounce the TCU Horned Frogs 65-7 in the National Championship.

According to the prediction of 247 Sports and CBS Sports college football analyst Brad Crawford, the Buckeyes and Bulldogs could get a rematch just a little over two years after that legendary semifinal clash. This time the rematch would happen in the championship game. Here is how the Buckeyes and Bulldogs reach the very first National Championship game in the 12-team playoff format.

Dec 31, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day leads his team in warm-ups prior to the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Adam Cairns-The Columbus Dispatch Ncaa Football Peach Bowl Ohio State At Georgia / Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA

Ohio State, Georgia, Florida State and Kansas State enter the playoff as the top four seeds with first-round byes. Oregon, Texas, Ole Miss, Penn State, Alabama, Miami FL, Notre Dame and Liberty round out the rest of the field.

After defeating eight-seed Penn State in the opening round, ninth-seeded Alabama faces off against the Buckeyes in the quarterfinal. The Buckeyes move past the Crimson Tide and go head-to-head in a Big Ten rematch with Oregon following the Ducks' victories against Liberty and Kansas State. The number one seed Buckeyes get past the Ducks and make it to the inaugural 12-team playoff National Championship game.

As for Georgia, they first take on fellow SEC opponent Ole Miss after the seventh-seeded Rebels disposed of the tenth-seed Miami Hurricanes. Georgia gets past Ole Miss to a semifinal date with the Texas Longhorns, also of the SEC. The sixth-seeded Longhorns took down Notre Dame and Florida State to get to this point. After beating the Longhorns, Georgia returns to the National Championship just two years after winning it all.

.@BCrawford247's full 2024 College Football Playoff projections are here 👀

Title game prediction: No. 1 @OhioStateFB vs. No. 2 @GeorgiaFootball. Thoughts?

Full breakdown: https://t.co/t5SyUvtzYs pic.twitter.com/UbzoTWSB3X

— CBS Sports College Football 🏈 (@CBSSportsCFB) July 3, 2024

Unfortunately the predictions stopped there and Crawford did not pick a National Championship winner. Nonetheless, his belief in the Buckeyes to get the top seed, secure a first-round bye and make it to the championship game is encouraging.

This would not be the first time for Ohio State to make it to the National Championship game in the inaugural season with a new format. The last time the Buckeyes won it all was at the end of the 2014 season in the very first College Football Playoff.

A chance to get revenge against the Georgia Bulldogs would make the game that much sweeter for Ryan Day and his crew as well.