Jan. 8 – College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T
#2 Alabama (12-1) vs #1 Georgia (13-1) – 8 p.m. ESPN – Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta

It’s an all SEC national title final after the two conference powerhouses Alabama and Georgia took care of Clemson and Oklahoma. Alabama avenged losing the national title last year to Clemson and shutdown the Tigers offense consistently to enter the national title game again. The Tide methodically followed their game plan of sound field position, good ball security and tough defense. They controlled the line of scrimmage throughout and played flawlessly to stay in command from their opening score. It’s the same formula that the Crimson Tide has historically used to consistently win, especially in big game situations. It worked again and they are back in the national championship despite not playing in the SEC title game.

College Football Semi Final Playoffs
#3 Georgia 54 #2 Oklahoma 48
#4 Alabama 23 #1 Clemson 6

Photo – QB Baker Mayfield – Oklahoma

Georgia made an amazing comeback vs Oklahoma to overcome a game long deficit. Freshman QB Jake Fromm had a super clutch performance to makeup for another incredible effort by Heisman Trophy winner QB Baker Mayfield to win in double OT. The Bulldogs’ ground game was once again a dominant factor with seniors Nick Chubb and Sony Michele both pounding the ball, in addition to big plays. They kept Mayfield and the potent Sooner offense on the sidelines nicely through the second half of the game. Mayfield was unstoppable with laser like accuracy and keen decision making. This game can go instant classic off numerous clutch big plays. The Sooner defense must take the blame here as they failed to play sound defense in any respect. Poor tackling allowed Georgia to keep every drive alive and cut the margin to a one score game.

Both clubs, Alabama and Georgia enter the national title game with one loss. The only undefeated team in the nation is Central Florida who beat Auburn on New Years’ day. Ironically, Auburn beat both Alabama and Georgia during the regular season. They lost to Georgia in the SEC title game, which knocked them out of the top four clubs and semi-finals. Central Florida is one of the great stories of the year. HC Scott Frost remained with the club through the bowl season, despite signing as the new Nebraska coach in December. Frost was a star QB and safety there in the ‘90s and an ideal fit for the Cornhuskers who hopes to rebuild their program under Frost’s direction. The UCF perfect performance will bring shouts of a new 8 team playoff system, similar to when TCU was excluded a few years ago despite an unblemished record.

Alabama Wins National Title on Dramatic Overtime TD – Final Top 25 Teams

Alabama’s HC Nick Saban wins his fifth national championship at Alabama (6th overall – LSU) in a dramatic OT win over Georgia. Nick Saban beat his former assistant coach, Kirby Smart, as Alabama overcame a 13-point deficit in the second half to beat Georgia 26-23 in the College Football Playoff National Championship. It will ranked among the best national title games in recent history with two freshman QBs leading their teams

Players of the National Title Game – Jan. 8
Offense – QB Tua Tagovailoa – Alabama
Defense – LB Roquan Smith – Georgia

Team of the Week – Alabama

Photo – LB Roquan Smith – Georgia

DraftInsiders.com Poll – Jan. 8
Frank Coyle – Head Scout
Rank/ Team/ Record
1 Alabama 13-1
2 Georgia 13-2
3 Oklahoma 12-2
4 Clemson 12-2
5 UCF 13-0
6 Ohio State 12-2
7 Wisconsin 13-1
8 Penn State 10-2
9 TCU 11-2
10 Notre Dame 10-3
11 Auburn 10-4
12 Washington 10-3
13 USC 11-3
14 Oklahoma State 10-3
15 Miami 10-3
16 LSU 9-4
17 Northwestern 10-3
18 South Florida 10-2
19 Michigan St 10-3
20 Virginia Tech 9-4
21 Mississippi St 9-4
22 Stanford 9-5
23 Fresno State 9-3
24 NC State 9-4
25 Memphis 10-3

AP Football Poll 
Rank/ Team/ 1st Place Votes/ Rec/ Points
AP Top 25
Rank/ Team / Rec / Pts
1 Alabama (57) 13-1 1521
2 Georgia 13-2 1454
3 Oklahoma 12-2 1374
4 Clemson 12-2 1292
5 Ohio State 12-2 1286
6 UCF (4) 13-0 1248
7 Wisconsin 13-1 1194
8 Penn State 11-2 1120
9 TCU 11-3 974
10 Auburn 10-4 917
11 Notre Dame 10-3 857
12 USC 11-3 839
13 Miami 10-3 769
14 Oklahoma State 10-3 758
15 Michigan State 10-3 705
16 Washington 10-3 668
17 Northwestern 10-3 528
18 LSU 9-4 368
19 Mississippi State 9-4 359
20 Stanford 9-5 336
21 South Florida 10-2 267
22 Boise State 11-3 251
23 NC State 9-4 232
24 Virginia Tech 9-4 126
25 Memphis 10-3 119

Dropped from rankings: Washington State 21

Others receiving votes: Washington State 84, South Carolina 46, Iowa State 36, Army 33, Florida Atlantic 32, Troy 14, Fresno State 13, San Diego State 3, Iowa 2

College Football Playoff schedule
Final Regular Season Top 25 Teams

Here is the 2017-18 college playoff lineup and College football playoff rankings

Jan. 1 – Semi-final Matchups

College Football Playoff at the Rose Bowl Game
#3 Georgia vs. #2 Oklahoma
5 p.m., ESPN
Rose Bowl – Pasadena, California

College Football Playoff at the Sugar Bowl
#4 Alabama vs. #1 Clemson
8:45 p.m., ESPN
Mercedes-Benz Superdome – New Orleans

Photo – QB J.T. Barrett – Ohio St

Jan. 8
College Football Playoff National Championship Presented By AT&T
Semi Final Winners
8 p.m. ESPN – Mercedes-Benz Stadium – Atlanta

College Football Playoff Rankings
Rank / Team / Record
1 Clemson 12-1
2 Oklahoma 12-1
3 Georgia 12-1
4 Alabama 11-1
5 Ohio State 11-2
6 Wisconsin 12-1
7 Auburn 10-3
8 USC 11-2
9 Penn State 10-2
10 Miami 10-2
11 Washington 10-2
12 UCF 12-0
13 Stanford 9-4
14 Notre Dame 9-3
15 TCU 10-3
16 Michigan State 9-3
17 LSU 9-3
18 Washington State 9-3
19 Oklahoma State 9-3
20 Memphis 10-2
21 Northwestern 9-3
22 Virginia Tech 9-3
23 Mississippi State 8-4
24 NC State 8-4
25 Boise State 10-3

Dropped from rankings: Fresno State 25

Frank Coyle is a long-time scout with nationwide ties with coaches, scouts and player agents. He is a long-time member of the FWAA and voter in College player awards – Heisman, Outland, Nagurski, Lombardi, Thorpe, Biletnikoff etc for the past 20 years. He writes College Football Mondays weekly during the season. He is a longtime scouting consultant for the Senior Bowl, the nation’s premier postseason All-star game. He does sports radio shows for ESPN, Fox Sports and Sporting News on a year-round basis related to College Football especially during the postseason team and All-star Bowl time. He has worked for CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo and Rivals sports publications and web sites