If you tried to explain this college football season to someone who fell into a coma on August 28, 2021, they would probably laugh at you. 

“What?” they would say. “Come on! Michigan in the top 2? Clemson with 3 losses? Georgia at 12-0? No Oklahoma in the Big-12 Championship? A Group-of-5 Team in the top 4? That’s laughable!”

Well, all those extremities occurred, in one season, mind you. Michigan is in the top 4 because of their improbable upset of Ohio State, even though Michigan lost to rival Michigan State earlier in the year, they are certainly eyeing the Holy Grail of College Football, the College Football Playoff, however, they will have to battle and defeat 13 ranked Iowa for the Big 10 Championship first, for if they lose, they will certainly fall out of the top 4.

Clemson’s underperformance is also fairly explainable. Former 5-Star D.J. Uiagalelei has been utterly terrible, posting numbers that would make Joe Namath throw up. Uiagalelei has thrown for only 2059 yards on a 54% completion percentage. Uiagalelei has 13 total touchdowns, to 9 interceptions. Yikes. Georgia, on the other hand, has lived up to its sky-high preseason expectations by finishing the season undefeated and ranked #1 in both the AP and CFP poll. Georgia’s offense has been quietly good, as they average 40 points a game. Their defense, however, has been the main act of the show. As a team, Georgia has 41 total sacks, 12 interceptions, 7 forced fumbles, and 3 total defensive touchdowns. Georgia’s D only allows 230 yards per game, and holds its opponents to an astounding 6.9 points a game! Good luck, Alabama.

Oklahoma has had a rollercoaster of a season. It started by nearly losing to a Tulane team that would end up finishing 2-10, and after their savage beating of Western Carolina, they won 3 straight games by less than 7 points, and all of those teams were unranked. Then came the Red River Showdown, and that game was a doozy. Quarterback Spencer Rattler, the preseason Heisman favorite, was benched for Caleb Williams, who led Oklahoma to a comeback victory. The next week, Oklahoma would cruise past TCU. The next week, they would nearly lose to Kansas. Kansas. They would nearly lose to Kansas. Oklahoma would then beat Texas Tech before a crucial matchup against Baylor, which they would lose. That gave Oklahoma its first loss of the season. OU would play Iowa State on the road next week, and escape the trap game with a win, although a close one. The following week was the game most important to all Sooners fans: Bedlam. Oklahoma would be facing Oklahoma State on the road, and with major implications. If OKst. won, they would play Baylor in the Big-12 Championship. If Oklahoma was to win, OKst. and OU would play again in the Big-12 Championship. As most of you know, OU blew the game and will not be playing in the Big-12 Championship. 

Cincinnati’s situation is easily explainable. They started out the year ranked #8 and they finished 12-0. Cincinnati currently is fourth in the CFP rankings. If Cincy was to hold their ranking, they would be the first Group-of-Five team to make the CFP.