The final Top 25 College Football Playoff Rankings are out for the 2021 College Football Playoff! The full Top 25 of the College Football Rankings for December 20 is out and we’re breaking them down. WATCH LIVE from Chat Sports in the video above or click to watch on YouTube: College Football Playoff Rankings LIVE – Final Top 25 Teams And New Year's 6 Bowl Game Matchups
After Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State won their conference championship games, it left the fourth spot open, which went to Notre Dame. Thanks to the Fighting Irish's win over Clemson in the regular season, Brian Kelly's team sneaks into the playoff for the 2nd time.
But should they have? Notre Dame got smashed by Clemson in the ACC title game, and Texas A&M had a case as the lone 1-loss team left in contention. However, the committee's view of A&M's 28-point loss to Alabama kept them out. Plus, the CFP committee likely couldn't have gone with an Alabama / A&M re-match in the 1 vs. 4 semifinal.
Should Oklahoma have been considered after winning the Big 12 championship over #6 Iowa State? The committee bumped the Sooners to #6 in the final rankings - above #8 Cincinnati who went undefeated and won the American Championship.
With the semifinals set, hopefully you enjoy winning big, and James & Harrison will help you make your picks in our video!
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#1 Alabama opens as a 19.5 point favorite over #4 Notre Dame and #2 Clemson opens as a 7.5 point favorite over #3 Ohio State. The Tigers have beaten the Buckeyes twice in CFP history, and are looking to move to 5-0 all-time in the series.
Dabo Swinney added new fuel to the rivalry on Monday because he voted Ohio State at #11 in his final Coaches Poll voting. The Buckeyes went 6-0 in the see-saw season that was the Big Ten. The CFP committee always valued Ohio State throughout its rankings this year despite the lack of games, and despite losing 3 games to Covid concerns. USC was not afforded the same value by the committee as they never ranked higher than #15 after starting 5-0.
The CFP Top 25 rankings revealed LIVE on Chat Sports YouTube - no need to pay for ESPN and sit through commercials, we had the NEW CFP Top 25 Rankings revealed the moment the College Football Playoff Committee reveals them.
College Football Playoff FINAL TOP 25 - December 20, 2020:
#1 Alabama Crimson Tide (11-0)
#2 Clemson Tigers (10-1)
#3 Ohio State Buckeyes (6-0)
#4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-1)
#5 Texas A&M Aggies (8-1)
#6 Oklahoma Sooners (8-2)
#7 Florida Gators (8-3)
#8 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0)
#9 Georgia Bulldogs (7-2)
#10 Iowa State Cyclones (8-3)
#11 Indiana Hoosiers (6-1)
#12 Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-0)
#13 North Carolina Tar Heels (8-3)
#14 Northwestern Wildcats (6-2)
#15 Iowa Hawkeyes (6-2)
#16 BYU Cougars (10-1)
#17 USC Trojans (5-1)
#18 Miami Hurricanes (8-2)
#19 Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9-1)
#20 Texas Longhorns (6-3)
#21 Oklahoma State Cowboys (7-3)
#22 San Jose State Spartans (7-0)
#23 NC State Wolfpack (8-3)
#24 Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6-2)
#25 Oregon Ducks (4-2)
Bowl Season is also very strange this year, as 16 games were canceled and every team was bowl eligible. With each team eligible for a bowl, we get to see 2-8 South Carolina and 3-7 Arkansas in bowl games. Harrison broke down this year's Bowl Game Schedule on Chat Sports Sunday as well.
Here are all the bowl matchups this year:
CFP SEMIFINALS (ARLINGTON, TX)
#1 ALABAMA VS #4 NOTRE DAME - FRI., JAN. 1ST, 4P ET
CFP SEMIFINALS (NEW ORLEANS, LA)
#2 CLEMSON VS #3 OHIO STATE - FRI., JAN. 1ST, 8P ET
COTTON BOWL (ARLINGTON, TX)
#7 FLORIDA VS #6 OKLAHOMA - WED., DEC. 30, 8P ET
PEACH BOWL (ATLANTA, GA)
#9 GEORGIA VS #8 CINCINNATI - FRI., JAN. 1ST, 12P ET
FIESTA BOWL (GLENDALE, AZ)
#10 IOWA STATE VS #25 OREGON - SAT., JAN. 2ND, 4P ET
ORANGE BOWL (MIAMI GARDENS, FL)
#13 NORTH CAROLINA VS #5 TEXAS A&M - SAT., JAN. 2ND, 8P ET
OUTBACK BOWL (TAMPA, FL)
#11 INDIANA VS OLE MISS - SAT., JAN. 2ND, 12:30P ET
GATOR BOWL (JACKSONVILLE, FL)
KENTUCKY VS #23 NC STATE - SAT., JAN. 2ND, 12P ET
CITRUS BOWL (ORLANDO, FL)
#14 NORTHWESTERN VS AUBURN - FRI., JAN. 1ST, 1P ET
TEXAS BOWL (HOUSTON, TX)
TCU VS ARKANSAS - THU., DEC. 31, 8P ET
LIBERTY BOWL (MEMPHIS, TN)
TENNESSEE VS WEST VIRGINIA - THU., DEC. 31, 4P ET
ARIZONA BOWL (TUCSON, AZ)
BALL STATE VS #22 SAN JOSE STATE - THU., DEC. 31, 2P ET
ARMED FORCES BOWL (FORT WORTH, TX)
#24 TULSA VS MISSISSIPPI STATE - THU., DEC. 31, 12P ET
MUSIC CITY BOWL (NASHVILLE, TN)
#15 IOWA VS MISSOURI - WED., DEC. 30, 3:30P ET
DUKE'S MAYO BOWL (CHARLOTTE, NC)
WISCONSIN VS WAKE FOREST - WED., DEC. 30, 12P ET
ALAMO BOWL (SAN ANTONIO, TX)
COLORADO VS #20 TEXAS - TUE., DEC. 29, 9P ET
CHEEZ-IT BOWL (ORLANDO, FL)
#21 OKLAHOMA STATE VS #18 MIAMI (FL) - TUE., DEC. 29, 5:30P ET
LENDINGTREE BOWL (MOBILE, AL)
GEORGIA STATE VS WESTERN KENTUCKY - SAT., DEC. 26, 3:30P ET
FIRST RESPONDER BOWL (DALLAS, TX)
#19 LOUISIANA VS UTSA - SAT., DEC. 26, 3:30P ET
GASPARILLA BOWL (TAMPA, FL)
SOUTH CAROLINA VS UAB - SAT., DEC. 26, 12P ET
CURE BOWL (ORLANDO, FL)
LIBERTY VS #12 COASTAL CAROLINA - SAT., DEC. 26, 12P ET
CAMELLIA BOWL (MONTGOMERY, AL)
MARSHALL VS BUFFALO - FRI. DEC. 25, 3:30P ET
NEW MEXICO BOWL (FRISCO, TX)
HOUSTON VS HAWAII - THU., DEC. 24, 3:30P ET
MONTGOMERY BOWL (MONTGOMERY, AL)
MEMPHIS VS FAU - WED., DEC. 23, 7P ET
NEW ORLEANS BOWL (NEW ORLEANS, LA)
LOUISIANA TECH VS GEORGIA SOUTHERN - WED., DEC. 23, 3:30P ET
BOCA RATON BOWL (BOCA RATON, FL)
UCF VS #16 BYU - TUE., DEC. 22, 7P ET
IDAHO POTATO BOWL (BOISE, ID)
NEVADA VS TULANE - TUE., DEC. 22, 3:30P ET
MYRTLE BEACH BOWL (CONWAY, SC)
APP STATE VS NORTH TEXAS - MON. DEC. 21, 2:30P ET
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