College Football

By the Numbers: CFP semifinals and major weekend bowl games

Updated Dec. 31, 2021 3:38 p.m. ET

After months of hard-hitting action, dramatic finishes and ups-and-downs in the rankings, we're finally down to this: Four dominant teams battling for a national championship.

It all begins with the semifinals on New Year's Eve. First, the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide take on the No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats in the Cotton Bowl, and then the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines face the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs in the Orange Bowl.

The winners of those games will meet in the national championship game Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

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But that's not all that's going on this weekend in college football, as there are also some huge matchups on New Year's Day in the Rose Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Sugar Bowl.

Here are the numbers you need to know about the College Football Playoff semifinals and other big matchups this weekend.

Cotton Bowl: No. 1 Alabama (12-1) vs. No. 4 Cincinnati (13-0)
3:30 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Matchup: Alabama leads the all-time series 5-0, but they haven't met since 1990, when the Tide won 45-7. Alabama's all-time bowl record is 44-16-3, while Cincinnati's is 9-10. The Bearcats are 13-0 for the first time in program history.

14-5: This is Nick Saban's record in postseason games as Alabama's head coach. Further evidence of his dominance: Saban has an NCAA-record 23 wins of at least 20 points against teams ranked in the top 15 of the AP poll.

71-17: Alabama is 71-17 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 since the start of the 2008 season. The Tide are also 33-11 against top-10 teams in that period and 18-5 since the start of the College Football Playoff (2014).

40: Alabama has scored at least 40 points in 40 of its past 54 games.

42.5: Alabama's offense ranks fourth in the nation in scoring, at 42.5 PPG. The defense ranks 20th, allowing 20.2 PPG.

43 and 4: Alabama quarterback Bryce Young, the Heisman Trophy winner, has 43 touchdown passes and only four interceptions this season.

6: Cincinnati ranks sixth in the nation in both points allowed (16.8) and yards allowed (310.2).

.880: Cincinnati's winning percentage since 2018 (44-6), which ranks among the top five teams in college football.

37-2: This is Cincinnati's record when leading at the half under coach Luke Fickell. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Bearcats are the best second-half team in the nation, with a scoring differential of +141.

33: The Bearcats have forced 33 turnovers this season, second-most in the nation.

88.9: Cincinnati's Desmond Ridder has the best winning percentage among active starting quarterbacks, having won 89.8% of his games (44-5).

Orange Bowl: No. 2 Michigan (12-1) vs. No. 3 Georgia (12-1)
7:30 p.m. ET Friday on ESPN

Matchup: These teams have played each other twice, with Georgia winning the most recent matchup 15-7 in 1965. Michigan is 21-27 all-time in bowl games, while Georgia is 33-21-3.

0.8: Michigan's sack rate of 0.8 per game is the third-best mark in the nation.

10: Michigan is one of three teams to rank in the top-10 nationally in both scoring offense and defense. The other two are Cincinnati and Georgia.

22: Michigan had 22 players earn all-Big Ten accolades this season — 10 on offense, nine on defense and three on special teams.

47.7: Michigan is scoring nearly 50 points per game in its past three contests, ranking third in the nation.

100: Michigan is 35-1 under coach Jim Harbaugh when it has a 100-yard rusher. The Wolverines are also 52-5 when outrushing their opponents and 47-8 when scoring first.

20: Georgia is 50-1 under coach Kirby Smart when allowing fewer than 20 points and 44-7 when gaining at least 400 yards.

30: The Bulldogs have scored at least 30 points in 11 of their 13 games this season.

+272: Georgia leads the nation in first-half point differential. The only other teams over +200 are Ohio State (+218) and Alabama (+201).

5: The Bulldogs rank in the top five in scoring defense (9.8 PPG, first), yards allowed per pass (5.8, third), yards allowed per rush (2.7, third), rushing yards allowed per game (83.3, third), opponent red-zone scoring percentage (60.87%, first) and total yards allowed per game (265.1).

Fiesta Bowl: No. 5 Notre Dame (11-1) vs. No. 9 Oklahoma State (11-2)
1 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN

Matchup: This is the first time these schools have met. Notre Dame's all-time bowl record is 18-20, while Oklahoma State's is 20-11. This is Notre Dame's first game since coach Brian Kelly left to take the job at LSU.

0: The Irish have not committed a turnover in four of their past six games.

5-0: Notre Dame is undefeated away from home this season.

40: The Irish have won 27 straight when scoring at least 40 points. They've also won 36 straight when allowing fewer than 20 points.

100: Oklahoma State has held five of its past seven opponents to fewer than 100 yards rushing. It allows 91.2 rushing yards per game, the fifth-best mark in the nation.

30: The Cowboys have allowed only one opponent to score 30 or more points this season.

54: Oklahoma State racked up 54 sacks this season, a school record and the best mark in the nation. Only one other school topped the 50-sack mark (Pitt, 51.5).

Rose Bowl: No. 6 Ohio State (10-2) vs. No. 11 Utah (10-3)
5 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN

Matchup: These teams have met only one other time, with Ohio State beating Utah 64-6 in 1986. Ohio State's all-time bowl record is 26-27, while Utah's is 17-6.

1: Ohio State leads the nation in both total offense (551.1 YPG) and scoring (45.5 PPG).

1,000: The Buckeyes have a 1,000-yard rusher (TreVeyon Henderson) and two 1,000-yard receivers (Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba), though Wilson opted out of this game.

70.9: Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud, who finished fourth in Heisman voting, completed 70.9% of his passes for 3,862 yards, 38 touchdowns and five interceptions.

4: Utah has won four straight games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25. The Utes have also won six straight games by more than one score.

5.61: The Utes rank second in the nation at 5.61 rushing yards per carry. They are 14th in the nation with 216.1 rushing yards per game.

35: Utah is tied for fourth in the nation with 35 rushing touchdowns this season.

3: Ohio State is 1-2 this season when allowing three or more rushing touchdowns.

+193: Utah led the Pac-12 in point differential, at +193.

Sugar Bowl: No. 7 Baylor (11-2) vs. No. 8 Ole Miss (10-2)
8:45 p.m. ET Saturday on ESPN

Matchup: These teams have met once before, with Baylor beating Ole Miss 20-10 in 1975. Baylor's all-time bowl record is 2-6, while Ole Miss is 10-8.

4: This is the number of Top 25 teams Baylor has defeated this season, its most since 1974.

21: The Bears have forced at least one turnover in 21 consecutive games. They've also forced multiple turnovers in four straight games.

30: No team has cracked the 30-point mark this season against Baylor's defense, which has held 12 of 13 opponents below its scoring average.

20/10: Matt Corral is the second QB in Ole Miss history with at least 20 touchdown passes and at least 10 rushing TDs in the same season. The other was Chad Kelly in 2005. Corral has thrown a TD pass in 23 of his past 24 games.

25: Ole Miss has held four straight foes to fewer than 25 points.

+11: Ole Miss led the SEC in turnover margin, at +11. That mark is tied for seventh in the nation.

400: Ole Miss has compiled at least 400 yards of offense in 10 of 12 games.