ESPN College GameDay: Picks for College Football Playoff Semifinals

At long last, arguably the biggest day of the college football season has arrived, and the ESPN College GameDay crew is here to guide us through it.

It’s New Year’s Eve, so that can only mean one thing — the College Football Playoff is about to kickoff. In addition to two monster semifinal games, New Year’s Eve also brings some tremendous bowl showdowns — a Sugar Bowl matchup between Kansas State and Alabama, and the Music City Bowl, where Kentucky and Iowa will fight for victory.

Still, while those games may be supremely entertaining, it’s all a lead-in for this evening’s Fiesta Bowl between TCU and Michigan, followed by the Peach Bowl, where defending champion Georgia looks to keep their dream of back-to-back titles alive against Ohio State.

Broadcasting live from Atlanta, College GameDay brought the juice, even if there was no raucous crowd behind them on Saturday. Desmond Howard, Rece Davis, Pat McAfee, Lee Corso and Kirk Herbstreit have been the gift that keeps on giving throughout 2022, and New Year’s Eve provided the same entertainment.

Per usual, the crew had to make their selections for Saturday’s games, and these ones carried some significant weight. Here’s who the crew believes will hoist some trophies, and which two squads will advance to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 9 in Inglewood.

ESPN College GameDay picks for College Football Playoff Semifinals:

CFP Semifinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl — Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Georgia Bulldogs: Herbstreit isn’t picking the game because he’s on the call, but Howard and McAfee are riding with the Bulldogs to get the victory.

As for Corso, he went back to the well with his old friend Brutus, picking Ohio State to pull the upset.

CFP Semifinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl — TCU Horned Frogs vs. Michigan Wolverines: Of course Howard is riding with the Wolverines, and McAfee, Corso and Herbstreit are in agreement.

Allstate Sugar Bowl — Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Kansas State Wildcats: Will anyone pick against Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide? Nobody on the College GameDay set did.

TransPerfect Music City Bowl — Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Kentucky Wildcats: Herbstreit is the lone dissenter, picking the Wildcats to win despite Will Levis skipping the game.

ESPN College GameDay Crew picks:

Desmond Howard: Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Iowa

Pat McAfee: Georgia, Michigan, Alabama, Iowa

Lee Corso: Ohio State, Michigan, Alabama, Iowa

Kirk Herbstreit: Michigan, Alabama, Kentucky

David Pollack: Georgia, Michigan

Joey Galloway: Ohio State, Michigan

Jesse Palmer: Georgia, Michigan