CFP Thread

[Hungry Jack]

Now that we know the matchups (Michigan vs. GA, Bama vs. Cincy), I think we should scout the matchups.

I think Bama vs. Cincinnati is going to hurt for Bearcats fans. Duh. No knock on the Bearcats, it is just that the Tide has a Heisman QB and receivers who blow the top off any secondary, as Georgia found out. Bama should be able to have its way on offense. They might put up 50.

The Bulldog - Wolverine tilt seems very interesting. It is a good matchup for Michigan (as opposed to playing Alabama), whose offensive line might be able to handle that Dawg front 7. McNamara is going to have play his butt off. He was not very good in the first half vs. Iowa. The Wolverines cannot afford that vs. Georgia. Can Michigan stretch the field to keep the Dawg secondary honest, freeing up space for TE All? The Georgia defense is much faster than Iowa's, so going horizontal is going to be tough.

Georgia's best offensive player might be TE Brock Bowers. Michigan did not have too much trouble with LaPorta at Iowa, but I thought they were forced to adjust to him after the first half. Bowers will be a bigger test. Michigan can take advantage of Stetson Bennett's inexperience by disguising coverages and blitzes.

That's all I got for now. Would love to hear thoughts from those more familiar with Georgia.

 

[phatcat]

I can't believe I am writing this, but re MichiGag v Georgia..."SEC! SEC! SEC!"

Not one of those "root for the conference" types. I have no interest in rooting for flim flam fleck or flim flam franklin, but, most especially, I wish nothing but ill will on Illinois and Michigan.

 

[Bweiny]

Bulldog - Wolverine tilt seems very interesting. It is a good matchup for Michigan (as opposed to playing Alabama), whose offensive line might be able to handle that Dawg front 7. McNamara is going to have play his butt off. He was not very good in the first half vs. Iowa. The Wolverines cannot afford that vs. Georgia. Can Michigan stretch the field to keep the Dawg secondary honest, freeing up space for TE All?

I think it's an unfavorable matchup for Michigan. Georgia seems like the opposite of Ohio St. Alabama didn't have much success running aside from Young scrambling. The vulnerability was to the mobile QB and deep balls, neither of which is a Michigan specialty. Kirby Smart is nicer and less arrogant than most top coaches (Mack Brown like), so I won't mind if he stomps on Harbaugh's magical season with pure talent alone.

I'd like to see Alabama send Cincinnati crashing back to earth with a 2000 Alamo Bowl type score, but it remains true that this isn't one of Saban's best, even if they peaked at exactly the right time. I could see a Cincinnati cover honestly.

 

[NUCat320]

Alabama over Georgia was the worst thing that could have happened for Cincinnati. It was funny on the B1G championship postgame to see all those goofs realize they couldn’t pick an All-SEC round one matchup, and then say “actually, Bama v Cincinnati”, no matter what I think is the *right* ranking.

I expect CFP will give us a Bama-Georgia final, but fingers crossed for literally any other option.

As a longtime Georgia resident, there’s some joy in watching UGA fans get sad again.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Alabama over Georgia was the worst thing that could have happened for Cincinnati. It was funny on the B1G championship postgame to see all those goofs realize they couldn’t pick an All-SEC round one matchup, and then say “actually, Bama v Cincinnati”, no matter what I think is the *right* ranking.

I expect CFP will give us a Bama-Georgia final, but fingers crossed for literally any other option.

As a longtime Georgia resident, there’s some joy in watching UGA fans get sad again.

Agreed, my heart says Cinci-Michigan, but my brain knows Bama-Georgia round 2 is probably on its way, and my body is ready to enjoy the show.

 

[NJCat]

Agreed, my heart says Cinci-Michigan, but my brain knows Bama-Georgia round 2 is probably on its way, and my body is ready to enjoy the show.

Would you continue to run with Stetson Bennett at QB? Yes, he had a good regular season run. But UGA and Bama are pretty even at every position but QB. JT Daniels might be the key to unlock a Bulldog win over Bama. I struggle to see how Stetson beats 'em.

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Would you continue to run with Stetson Bennett at QB? Yes, he had a good regular season run. But UGA and Bama are pretty even at every position but QB. JT Daniels might be the key to unlock a Bulldog win over Bama. I struggle to see how Stetson beats 'em.

I have no idea, I haven't watched enough Georgia this year to have a strong opinion. UGA isn't going to beat Alabama if their secondary gets destroyed over the top like that again, so I'd argue it has more to do with getting that sorted out that anything else. Alabama really just torched them on big plays but UGA shut down most of the rest of their attack. Of course, manufacturing big plays is a HUGE part of college football offense in 2021, despite what some here want to believe, so it's easier said than done to stop it.

 

[NUCat320]

Would you continue to run with Stetson Bennett at QB? Yes, he had a good regular season run. But UGA and Bama are pretty even at every position but QB. JT Daniels might be the key to unlock a Bulldog win over Bama. I struggle to see how Stetson beats 'em.

For what it’s worth, Tua’s effective debut was in the national championship against Ga all those years ago. Daniels has played a lot more, but…

 

[phatcat]

Alabama over Georgia was the worst thing that could have happened for Cincinnati. It was funny on the B1G championship postgame to see all those goofs realize they couldn’t pick an All-SEC round one matchup, and then say “actually, Bama v Cincinnati”, no matter what I think is the *right* ranking.

I expect CFP will give us a Bama-Georgia final, but fingers crossed for literally any other option.

As a longtime Georgia resident, there’s some joy in watching UGA fans get sad again.

I had the unwelcome "pleasure" of traveling through DTW this past long weekend on a trip to Toledo, and I've not seen that much p1$$ yellow M clothing in 10 years. It sucked. Hate that program.

 

[CatManTrue]

Might get ugly for Cincinnati: