2021–22 College Football Playoff
{{Short description|College football tournament}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox College Football Playoff
|cfp_years = 2021–22
|cfb_season = 2021
|semi_bowl1 = Cotton Bowl Classic
|semi_bowl2 = Orange Bowl
|semi_date = December 31, 2021
|champ_date = January 10, 2022
|team1 = Alabama
|team2 = Michigan
|team3 = Georgia
|team4 = Cincinnati
|champion = Georgia
|cfp_ordinal = 1st
|overall_ordinal = 3rd
|previous = 2020–21
|next = 2022–23
}}
The 2021–22 College Football Playoff was a single-elimination postseason tournament that determined the national champion of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was the eighth edition of the College Football Playoff (CFP) and involved the top four teams in the country as ranked by the College Football Playoff poll playing in two semifinals, with the winners of each advancing to the national championship game. The four teams selected to participate in the playoff were No. 1 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference, No. 2 Michigan from the Big Ten Conference, No. 3 Georgia from the Southeastern Conference, and No. 4 Cincinnati from the American Athletic Conference. Georgia was the lone team of the four to not have been champions of their conference, as they lost the SEC Championship to Alabama. Cincinnati's selection made them the first team from any of the Group of Five conferences to appear in the College Football Playoff.
The playoff bracket's semifinal games were held at the Cotton Bowl Classic and the Orange Bowl on New Year's Eve, part of the season's slate of bowl games. The Cotton Bowl semifinal saw Alabama defeat Cincinnati by a twenty-one-point margin, while the Orange Bowl semifinal saw Georgia defeat Michigan, 34–11. By virtue of their victories, Alabama and Georgia advanced to the national championship game, held on January 10 in Indianapolis. The title game was a rematch of the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship and the SEC Championship played roughly a month prior. In the championship game, Georgia upset Alabama, 33–18, to win their first CFP national championship and their third national championship in school history, the first since 1980.
Bracket
{{2022 College Football Playoff}}
Selection and teams
The 2021–22 CFP selection committee was chaired by Iowa athletic director Gary Barta. Its other members were Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart, former The Arizona Republic reporter Paola Boivin, Wyoming athletic director Tom Burman, Georgia State athletic director Charlie Cobb, NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan, Colorado athletic director Rick George, former NFL player Will Shields, Kansas State athletic director Gene Taylor, former head coach Joe Taylor, mathematician and former NFL player John Urschel, former Sugar Bowl president Rod West, and former head coach Tyrone Willingham.{{cite web |title=Year-by-year CFP selection committee membership |url=https://collegefootballplayoff.com/sports/2021/9/7/yearly-selection-committees |website=College Football Playoff |access-date=July 21, 2024}}
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%"
|+2021 College Football Playoff rankings top six progression | ||||||
| {{abbr|No.|Number}} | Week 9 | Week 10 | Week 11 | Week 12 | Week 13 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1
|Georgia (8–0)||Georgia (9–0)||Georgia (10–0)||Georgia (11–0)||Georgia (12–0)||style="background:#{{CollegeSecondaryHex|College Football Playoff}}"|Alabama (12–1) | ||||||
| 2
|Alabama (7–1)||Alabama (8–1)||Alabama (9–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Ohio State (10–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Michigan (11–1)||style="background:#{{CollegeSecondaryHex|College Football Playoff}}"|Michigan (12–1) | ||||||
| 3
|Michigan State (8–0)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Oregon (8–1)||Oregon (9–1)||style="background:#ffe6e6"|Alabama (10–1)||Alabama (11–1)||style="background:#{{CollegeSecondaryHex|College Football Playoff}}"|Georgia (12–1) | ||||||
| 4
|Oregon (7–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Ohio State (8–1)||Ohio State (9–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Cincinnati (11–0)||Cincinnati (12–0)||style="background:#{{CollegeSecondaryHex|College Football Playoff}}"|Cincinnati (13–0) | ||||||
| 5
|Ohio State (7–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Cincinnati (9–0)||Cincinnati (10–0)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Michigan (10–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Oklahoma State (11–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Notre Dame (11–1) | ||||||
| 6
|Cincinnati (8–0)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Michigan (8–1)||Michigan (9–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Notre Dame (10–1)||Notre Dame (11–1)||style="background:#d8ffeb"|Ohio State (10–2) |
Key: {{colorbox|#d8ffeb|{{small|Team increased ranking from previous week}}}} {{colorbox|#ffe6e6|{{small|Team decreased ranking from previous week}}}} {{colorbox|#{{CollegeSecondaryHex|College Football Playoff}}|{{small|Team selected to College Football Playoff}}|#000000}}
Playoff games
=Semifinals=
==Cotton Bowl Classic==
{{main|2021 Cotton Bowl Classic}}
{{Americanfootballbox
|titlestyle={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Cotton Bowl Classic|color=white}}; text-align:center
|small=y
|title=2021 Cotton Bowl Classic
|date=December 31, 2021
|time=2:30 p.m. CST
|road=No. 4 Cincinnati
|R1=3|R2=0|R3=3|R4=0
|home=No. 1 Alabama
|H1=7|H2=10|H3=0|H4=10
|stadium=AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas
}}
{{-}}
==Orange Bowl==
{{main|2021 Orange Bowl}}
{{Americanfootballbox
|titlestyle={{CollegePrimaryStyle|Orange Bowl|color=white}}; text-align:center
|small=y
|title=2021 Orange Bowl
|date=December 31, 2021
|time=7:30 p.m. EST
|road=No. 3 Georgia
|R1=14|R2=13|R3=0|R4=7
|home=No. 2 Michigan
|H1=0|H2=3|H3=0|H4=8
|stadium=Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida
}}
{{-}}
=Championship game=
{{main|2022 College Football Playoff National Championship}}
{{Americanfootballbox
|titlestyle={{CollegePrimaryStyle|College Football Playoff|color=white}}; text-align:center
|small=y
|title=2022 College Football Playoff National Championship
|date=January 10, 2022
|time=8:00 p.m. EST
|road=No. 3 Georgia
|R1=0|R2=6|R3=7|R4=20
|home=No. 1 Alabama
|H1=3|H2=6|H3=0|H4=9
|stadium=Lucas Oil Stadium • Indianapolis, Indiana
}}
{{-}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{2021 bowl game navbox}}
{{College Football Playoff navbox}}