College Football Playoff: Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl Preview, How to Watch

Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, and Cincinnati are the final four in the College Football Playoff. Can Cincinnati continue to make history and become the first Group of Five program to win a Playoff game? Preview and prediction for the 2021 Cotton Bowl and Orange Bowl.

© Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

After a year of wild twists and turns, we have our College Football Playoff (CFP) field set. Alabama claimed the top seed, their seventh CFP berth in eight years. They take on Cincinnati– the first Group of Five school to make the CFP– in the Cotton Bowl. 

Big Ten Champion Michigan secured the second seed (their first CFP berth) and will face Georgia, the third seed, in the Orange Bowl. The Bulldogs are appearing in their second CFP.

Below, we'll break down each of the semifinal matchups and take a 1,000 foot view at each team.

Both semifinal games kickoff on Friday, December 31. All kickoff times below are listed in Eastern Standard Time.

Goodyear Cotton Bowl: #1 Alabama (12-1) vs. #4 Cincinnati (13-0)

AT&T Stadium (Arlington, TX), 3:30 p.m., ESPN

After years of public outcry in the consideration of Group of Five schools, Cincinnati gets their shot. In previous years, undefeated Go5 schools were passed up for one-loss Power Five teams, most famously 2017 UCF.

The Bearcats get a shot at the nation's top team, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama won the SEC Championship Game in convincing fashion, dropping 41 points on one of the best defenses in the history of the sport (Georgia).

Cincinnati cornerback Ahmad Gardner leads an athletic secondary that's removed opposing receiving corps from games entirely. Gardner– a projected first-round NFL Draft pick– and the rest of the Bearcats' secondary take on Alabama's infinitely talented receiving corps led by Jameson Williams. This season, Williams hauled in 15 touchdown passes on 21.3 yards per reception. The Tide, however, will be without star receiver John Metchie III, who suffered a serious knee injury in the conference title game.

Luke Fickell over the past few years has proven to be among the elite coaches in the nation, leading Cincinnati to 24 consecutive regular season wins and back-to-back conference titles. Across the field is Nick Saban– the nation's winningest and most experienced championship coach.

Alabama is 5-1 in semifinal games and have won their last five. Notably, they have appeared in five of the last six National Championship games, winning three of them and only missing out on the 2019 Playoff field. They're led by Heisman Trophy favorite Bryce Young, who passed for over 300 yards and three touchdowns against Georgia in Week 14.

Cincinnati's shown the toughness, coaching, and talent to play with the nation's top teams. In Week 4, they won a physical game at #5 Notre Dame, a game that became the building block of their Playoff bid.

After a couple of down weeks, Alabama played their best football when it mattered, clinching their eighth SEC title under Saban. Their depth of talent and top end are superior to that of Cincinnati. They also field the game's best player, Will Anderson, who's recorded an exasperating 32.5 tackles for loss and 15.5 sacks– both top in the nation.

This game comes down to line play: something the Tide struggled with until the Georgia game. Should they play as cohesively as they did in the SEC Championship, the Tide will roll.

Team Stats Per Game:

Team Stats Per Game	#1 Alabama	#4 Cincinnati
Points per game	42.1 (2nd)	39.0 (7th)
Points allowed per game	20.8 (20th)	16.8 (6th)
Total yards	500.9 (4th)	431.7 (35th)
Total yards rushing	146.2 (77th)	184.0 (42nd)
Total yards passing	354.8 (6th)	247.7 (50th)
Yards allowed	311.9 (7th)	310.2 (6th)
Rushing yards allowed	84.2 (4th)	141.2 (44th)
Passing yards allowed	227.8 (60th)	169.0 (2nd)

Season leaders:

Passing yards

• Alabama - Bryce Young - 314-462, 4,322 yards, 43 touchdowns, four interceptions
• Cincinnati - Desmond Ridder - 234-355, 3,190 yards, 30 touchdowns, eight interceptions

Rushing yards

• Alabama - Brian Robinson Jr. - 223 carries, 1,071 yards, 14 touchdowns
• Cincinnati - Jerome Ford - 200 carries, 1,242 yards, 19 touchdowns

Receiving yards

• Alabama - Jameson Williams - 68 receptions, 1,445 yards, 15 touchdowns
• Cincinnati - Alec Pierce - 50 receptions, 867 yards, eight touchdowns

The pick: Alabama 31-24

CapitalOne Orange Bowl: #2 Michigan (12-1) vs. #3 Georgia (12-1)

Hard Rock Stadium (Miami Gardens, FL), 7:30 p.m., ESPN

Michigan, meet Georgia. Georgia, meet Michigan. These two programs haven't met on the football field since 1965. However, each team might think they're looking in a mirror.

The story this season for both programs have been their defenses. Georgia was allowing a historic 0.36 points per drive during the regular season. That lockdown number led to them outscoring opponents by a boggling 3.24 points per drive; in other words, they distanced themselves from their opponents by a field goal every drive. Until the SEC Championship Game, the Dawgs hadn't allowed more than 17 points in any given game.

They're led by Jordan Davis, a 6' 6", 340 pound defensive lineman that locks down the interior of the offensive line. Linebacker Nakobe Dean is the 2021 Butkus Award winner given to the nation's top linebacker. They also field multiple projected first-round NFL Draft picks at the other levels, namely pass rusher Travon Walker.

Michigan fields a fearsome defense of their own, led by Heisman Trophy hopeful Aiden Hutchinson, who made a national name for himself by recording three sacks against Ohio State. His counterpart, David Ojabo, is a projected first-round pick and recorded 11 sacks this year. The Michigan defense is sured up on the back end by safety Daxton Hill, also a projected first-round pick.

All of those names, and we haven't even touched on the offense yet.

The Wolverines have fielded the more impressive rushing attack this year, led by the dual-headed backfield of Hassan Haskins (20 rushing touchdowns) and Blake Corum (11 touchdowns). In their last two games– both against highly-ranked Ohio State and Iowa– outrushed their opponents 508 yards to 168 yards.

Georgia, though, has showcased a downfield passing offense that's capable of explosive plays. While Stetson Bennett IV hasn't needed to shoulder the load yet this year (thanks to the incredible defensive performance), the Georgia offense gained at least 10 yards on 26.1% of their plays this year.

Pressure matters in this game. Both teams field elite offensive lines that will be tested by elite opposing pass rushers. Buckle up, fans of smashmouth football. This is your game.

Team Stats Per Game:

Team Stats Per Game	#2 Michigan	#3 Georgia
Points per game	37.7 (9th)	38.0 (8th)
Points allowed per game	16.1 (2nd)	9.8 (1st)
Total yards	451.9 (14th)	439.4 (26th)
Total yards rushing	223.8 (8th)	192.1 (35th)
Total yards passing	228.1 (66th)	247.3 (51st)
Yards allowed	315.8 (10th)	265.1 (2nd)
Rushing yards allowed	121.1 (20th)	83.3 (3rd)
Passing yards allowed	197.4 (19th)	181.8 (8th)

Season leaders:

Passing yards

• Michigan - Cade McNamara - 199-308, 2,470 yards, 15 touchdowns, four interceptions
• Georgia - Stetson Bennett IV - 148-231, 2,325 yards, 24 touchdowns, seven interceptions

Rushing yards

• Michigan - Hassan Haskins - 261 carries, 1,288 yards, 20 touchdowns
• Georgia - Zamir White - 135 carries, 718 yards, 10 touchdowns

Receiving yards

• Michigan - Cornelius Johnson - 38 receptions, 609 yards, three touchdowns
• Georgia - Brock Bowers - 47 receptions, 791 yards, 11 touchdowns

The pick: Georgia 24-10

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