ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit projects SEC CFP matchup for Clemson |
ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit sees two SEC teams in the College Football Playoff again and Clemson would face one of them on Dec. 29.
Herbstreit moved Georgia (11-2) up to No. 3 in his rankings after the Bulldogs gave No. 1 Alabama (13-0) its toughest game of the season in a 35-28 SEC Championship win for the Crimson Tide. Georgia at No. 3 would meet Clemson (13-0) at No. 2 in the Orange Bowl in Herbstreit's scenario, while No. 4 Notre Dame (12-0) would face Alabama in the Cotton. "The biggest surprise was that Georgia outplayed Alabama for much of the football game and Nick Saban deserves credit for his team finding a way to secure that (Playoff) spot," Herbstreit said on the ESPN telecast. "I can't wait to see how the committee evaluates Georgia. They were four coming into the week and I don't know how they can go backwards. I think the only place they can go is up. And don't get caught up in - 'They're not a conference champion.' You can bring that up all you want but when you look at the best - the best four teams, Georgia is gonna be in there." Herbstreit sees one-loss conference champions in Oklahoma, at No. 5, and Ohio State, at No. 6, being left out. "They (ESPN) asked what I think they should do and I think that," Herbstreit said. "I'll say this about the committee. I thought they would take the easy way out (last year) and put Ohio State as the Big Ten Champions in and they didn't. They did the right thing and put Alabama in and they went on to the national title. I think they will do what I just (ranked)." The final CFP rankings will be unveiled on ESPN at 12:30 on Sunday.
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