College Football Playoff selections made, Michigan lands number 2 spot in playoffs
Aidan Hutchinson #97 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with the trophy after the Michigan Wolverines beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 42-3 to win the Big Ten Championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Dy
SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (FOX 2) - The College Football Playoff selections are over and while the four teams were a foregone conclusion - Michigan, Alabama, Georgia, and Cincinnati - where will they would be ranked was still a mystery.
That ended at 12:30 Sunday afternoon as Cincinnati was the 4 seed and will face Alabama, who got the 1 seed. Meanwhile, Michigan pulled in the 2 seed and will face number 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl.
Georgia lost to Alabama (who was number 3 at the time) in the SEC championship game. Alabama leapfrogged Michigan for the first spot and Georgia slides to number 3.
A big reason for this was believed to be that the committee does not want to see a rematch of Alabama and Georgia in the semifinals but CFP committee chair Gary Barta told ESPN that wasn't true.
Barta said Alabama was the clear-cut number 1 after the dominance over then number, Georgia.
Ohio State was selected at number 6 while Notre Dame was number 5 in the Rose Bowl.
Cincinnati was picked for the 4th seed, the first team from the Group of Five to make the CFP.
Georgia was selected number 3 after the SEC Championship game loss on Sunday.
Alabama was selected at number 1 to face Cincinnati.
Michigan was selected next at number 2, meaning they will play Georgia in the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve.
Michigan won the Big Ten Championship thanks in large part to its defense which held Iowa out of the endzone and to just 3 points.
The win is Michigan's first Big Ten Championship since 2004 when they shared it with Iowa. The last time Michigan won the championship outright was in 2003.
Beyond that, this is the first time Michigan has won vs. top 15 teams in back-to-back weeks since 2003 and is the third 12-win season in the history of the storied program (1905 and 1997). The last time Michigan did it, they went 12-0 and won the national title. They may have another chance in January.
Jim Harbaugh's redemption tour continues following an offseason where the fanbase called for his job following a disastrous 2-4 COVID shortened season. Instead, the athletics department restructured his contract and loaded it with incentives, two of which were winning the Big Ten Championship and advancing to the CFP.