College Football Playoff: New Year's Six bowl teams revealed

Despite a plethora of crazy possibilities for championship weekend that could have played out on Saturday, what’s leftover is a pretty clear picture of this year’s College Football Playoff. Now, the remaining top teams in the field have learned their fates for the New Year’s Six bowl slate.

No. 1 Alabama and No. 4 Georgia will open semifinal play in the Cotton Bowl on Friday, Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET in Arlington, Texas. The Orange Bowl between No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Georgia will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. ET that same night in Miami Gardens, Florida. ESPN will be carrying both national broadcasts.

Here is the 2021 New Year’s Six bowl slate.

New Year’s Six Matchups

Jan. 10 – National Championship Game
Indianapolis – Semifinal winners

Dec. 31 – Cotton Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal
Arlington, Texas – No. 1 Alabama versus No. 4 Cincinnati

Dec. 31 – Orange Bowl, College Football Playoff semifinal
Miami Gardens, Fla. – No. 2 Michigan versus No. 3 Georgia

Jan. 1 – Sugar Bowl, 8:45 p.m. ET, ESPN
New Orleans – No. 8 Ole Miss versus No. 7 Baylor

Jan. 1 – Rose Bowl, 5 p.m. ET, ESPN
Pasadena, Calif. – No. 6 Ohio State versus No. 11 Utah

Jan. 1 – Fiesta Bowl, 1 p.m. ET, ESPN
Glendale, Ariz. – No. 5 Notre Dame versus No. 9 Oklahoma State

Dec. 30 – Peach Bowl, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Atlanta – No. 10 Michigan State versus No. 12 Pittsburgh

NCAA adds 42nd bowl game

The NCAA is adding a 42nd bowl game for the 2021 postseason that will be played in the state of Texas.

The Football Oversight Committee approved the addition of the 42nd game on Thursday. The game will be played between two Group of Five teams.

The move comes as the NCAA attempts to make room for all teams that have reached six wins this season. This year, a whopping 84 teams reached .500.

The Lone Star State already has the Cotton Bowl, the Texas Bowl, the Tony the Tiger Bowl, the Alamo Bowl, the Armed Forces Bowl and the Frisco Bowl.

A date for the new Texas-based bowl game has not been revealed yet. However, sources told McMurphy that it would be broadcast on ESPN.

Prior to the addition, the oversight committee would have had to exclude two six-win teams from the group. Ball State, Hawaii, Miami (Ohio), North Texas, ODU or Wyoming are all six-win teams. Now, Hawaii can play in the Hawaii bowl versus Memphis.

The College Football Playoff games kick off on New Year’s Eve. The National Title game is on Jan. 10, 2022.