Audacy Sports College Football Playoff 2021 preview: Who will make it out of the semifinals?

Alabama: After such a crazy regular season in college football, The Tide looked rather ordinary this year. They were able to shake off a tough loss to Texas AM on the road, and we’re able to take care of business the rest of the way. They held off hated rival Auburn in a close and exciting Iron Bowl game, and to everyone's surprise, were able to pick apart Georgia's amazing defense, behind Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young throwing for over 400 yards and three TD’s to roll to yet another SEC conference title, which was enough for the committee to give Bama the No. 1 spot in the playoffs and are the clear favorites to repeat as National champions.

Key Players for Alabama: Bryce Young, Will Anderson

Cincinnati: As for Cincinnati, they finally did it. They are the first group of five team to make the CFP. Like Alabama, The Bearcats didn’t look dominant for most of the season, especially once we consider that the Bearcats play in a far weaker conference than the three other teams. Many criticized Cinci for not rolling through their opponents on their way to Dallas. Despite this, a win against a top ten Notre Dame team in South Bend was more than enough to convince the committee to let the Bearcats in, who are the only undefeated team in the FBS. Even though this will be the biggest game in their program's history, the Bearcats made a trip to the Peach Bowl last season where they lost by only a field goal to Georgia, another team in this year’s playoffs.

Key players for Cinci: Desmond Ridder, Ahmad ‘Sauce’ Gardner

When these two teams meet Saturday, I ultimately think Alabama’s experience, having been on this stage numerous times before and their talent across the board will just be too much for Cinci. If the Bearcats want any shot at winning, they need a perfect game out of QB Desmond Ridder and possibly pull a play or two out of the Boise State playbook of tricks if they want a chance at an upset. I have Alabama rolling by the Bearcats, 48-13.

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UGA: Georgia was easily the most dominant team in the country this season, until Kirby Smart, once again, lost to his mentor Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship game. The Bulldogs didn’t have a ton of meat on their regular-season schedule, so were they really the best team in the FBS or just that much better than the mediocre teams they played? Was the SEC championship game simply a bad night, or were they exposed as a vastly overrated team? With a defense that would scare just about anyone, the x-factor against the Wolverines will be Quarterback play. With JT Daniels testing positive for COVID-19, the hopes of the state of Georgia rest solely on the hands of former walk-on Stetson Bennett. With both Michigan and Georgia having great defenses, if the run game isn’t going, Bennett will be forced to make some big plays, which I’m sure Jim Harbaugh and staff would prefer to be the case.

Key players for Georgia: Jordan Davis, Stetson Bennett, Brock Bowers

Michigan: The Michigan Wolverines, like the Bearcats, were not expected to make it to the playoffs, heck they weren’t even expected to beat Ohio State this season. They finally were able to defeat the Buckeyes and win their first Big Ten title against Iowa since 2004, their first outright title since '03. The Wolverines have a very similar play style to Georgia, relying heavily on their defense and the run game. Georgia takes more shots down the field, but both Bennett and Michigan's quarterback Cade MacNamara are expected to be game managers for the offense and not make any crucial mistakes that will lose them the game. One fact I found remarkable is that Michigan started playing football in 1879 and Georgia started 13 years later -- but they’ve only met a total of one time on the field. The Bulldogs won 15-7 at the Big House in 1965, which was Vince Dooley’s second season.

Key players for Michigan: Aidan Hutchinson and Hassan Haskins

In my opinion, this game will be the best out of the two on New Year's Eve, and it should be a very physical football game. The Wolverines workhorse running back Hassan Haskins has to be the driver of the Michigan offense. Georgia's defense ranks 3rd in the nation in passing and rushing yards allowed so that may be too much to ask from Haskins. Still and yet, with Georgia's offense looking flat against Alabama, I see the same issues occurring against the Wolverines, thus Michigan will advance to their first national title game in nearly 25 years, upsetting the Bulldogs with a score of 34-26.