After winning their first SEC championship since 2017 on Saturday night, reigning national champions Georgia Bulldogs stayed ahead of the field as the No. 1 finishers in the college football playoffs, as determined by the CFP selection committee on Sunday. Georgia, 13-0 for the first time in program history, leads the four-team field to retain their national title and become the first consecutive champions of the CFP era.
Michigan, sitting 13-0 for the first time as the only other undefeated Power Five program this season, returns to the playoffs No. 2 after a rousing win over Ohio State last week and a win for the second straight season in the Big Ten Championship Game over Purdue.
That season stormed the party from TCU (12-1), who fell in the Big 12 Championship Game but secured third place on their tremendous play and 12 straight wins in the season opener. The Horned Frogs are only the second Big 12 team to make the playoffs in the postseason format’s nine-year history, and the first Big 12 team to do so without winning their league crown. They are also the first team to make the playoffs after starting the season unranked in the AP Top 25.
Ohio State (11-1) slips back into the playoffs despite sitting at home over the weekend of the conference championship. The Buckeyes enter at No. 4, with their only loss two weeks ago coming after an 11-0 start to the Wolverines. This makes the Big Ten only the second conference to place two members in the same playoff field; the SEC has done so twice before. (Notre Dame made the 2020-21 playoffs along with Clemson after playing an ACC schedule amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but she’s not a permanent member of the league.)
Two SEC teams, Alabama (10-2) and Tennessee (10-2) are just outside the field with four teams in fifth and sixth.
No. 1 Georgia will face No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl semifinals, which will be played December 31 in Atlanta in Glendale, Arizona. The 2022 CFP National Championship is scheduled for Monday, January 9th at SOFI Stadium in Inglewood, California.
January 9th | National Championship | title game | Semifinal Winner |
Dec 31 | peach peel | semifinals | (1) Georgia vs. (4) Ohio State |
Dec 31 | Fiesta Bowl | semifinals | (2) Michigan vs. (3) TCU |
Georgia is making the playoffs for the second straight year and third time overall. It has twice advanced from the semifinals to the national championship and is 1-1 in those games.
Michigan are similarly making their second straight playoff appearance and are hoping for a different result this time should they meet UGA again. The Wolverines have not won a national championship since 1997, a season before the BCS was formed, meaning UM have never won a special national title game.
TCU is making its playoff debut, seeking its first national championship since 1938. Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes is the third to lead a team into the CFP in Year 1 (Lincoln Riley with Oklahoma, Ryan Day with Ohio State), although he is the only coach to do so, not from a position on the previous coaching was increased. TCU is the 14th team to play in the CFP.
Ohio State is by far the most experienced program in this field, making its fifth overall playoff appearance and its third appearance in the last four seasons. The Buckeyes won the first CFP National Championship after the 2014 season but are only 1-3 in CFP games since.
Georgia is 1-0 all-time with Ohio State, their only meeting coming at the 1993 Citrus Bowl (21-14), while TCU and Michigan have never met on the gridiron.
The playoff field may be set, but it’s not the only thing going on this postseason. Check out CBS Sports’ bowl projections as well as the entire 2022-23 bowl schedule.