Who's In, Who's Out

After thirteen riveting weeks, the regular season of the 2021 college football season has come to an end, and one team has dominated in just about every game they have played. Finishing the year as one of only two undefeated teams and ranked first in the nation, the University of Georgia Bulldogs football team is the clear favorite to win the SEC and national championships. Throughout the season, Georgia has utilized two quarterbacks, Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels, who have both been outstanding while competing for the starting job. However, the star of the show has been Georgia’s defense. With key injuries on offense, including star wide receiver George Pickens, the Georgia defense has had to step up. And they have. Allowing just under seven points per game, the defense is the best in the country.

Their biggest test will come in the SEC championship game against the third ranked Alabama Crimson Tide who are 11-1 on the season. Alabama is coming off of a near upset against Auburn after they just barely pulled Led by the big Jordan Davis, Georgia’s defense swallows up USC’s quarterback off a win in four overtimes, and a few weeks ago, they were upset by unranked Texas A&M. While Alabama’s offense has been strong as usual, their defense has had an uncharacteristic off year, leading to high-scoring games against inferior opponents. If the Crimson Tide hope to match the Bulldogs in the SEC championship game, their defense will need to pull it together as they cannot rely on their offense to win them the game while facing Georgia’s stellar defense. By the time you are reading this, the SEC champion will have already been crowned, and a spot in the college football playoff hangs in the balance. If Georgia can take down Alabama, Alabama’s playoff spot could be at risk.

Only the top four teams in the country get a semi-final game, and many hungry teams are outside, looking in, including Oklahoma State. With Georgia’s playoff spot almost guaranteed, even with a loss to Alabama, only three spots remain. If either Alabama, Michigan, or Cincinnati happens to lose, the Oklahoma State Cowboys hope to be there to steal the last spot in the final week. The Cowboys have not won a national championship since 1945, and in recent years, they have been overshadowed by the Oklahoma Sooners, who have been phenomenal, with multiple Heisman winners. While their case for a playoff spot looks good, it relies on another team to lose. Oklahoma State’s best bet is to claim Alabama’s spot if Georgia wins as both Michigan and Cincinnati play significantly worse Oklahoma State’s QB, Spencer Sanders, leads the Cowboys to an impressive win over the Sooners opponent and are big favorites to win their division titles. Even with a top four loss, Oklahoma State would still have to beat number nine ranked Baylor who they outscored by ten in October. All things considered, Oklahoma State has a good shot at finally getting into the playoffs. With conference championship Saturday coming up, all eyes will be on the crucial matchups that will make or break the playoff hopes for several teams.