Photo courtesy of Georgia athletics
Introduction
We’ve created a 130-team bracket using ESPN’s FPI as our ranking system.
“But, anyone can create a bracket, how will the games be simulated?” Great question; NCAA Game Sim was used.
For each game on the bracket, the matchup was simulated once and every day a write-up will be done.
For the matchup, player statistics will be simulated and included in the write-ups.
Finally, thanks to the NCAA Game Sim premium membership, we’ll show the results of doing 100 simulations all at once. This is to see if a given result was more towards the expected side or if a given result was more towards the upset or luckier side.
All of the results have been simulated and tabulated, so at the time of writing the introduction, the results are already in.
This is designed to be fun, so please enjoy.
From Georgia to Massachusetts, here’s the 130-team bracket:
Match 99
(1) Georgia vs. (4) Iowa
How Georgia Got Here: 34-16 win over (16) Akron, 34-23 win over (9) Toledo
How Iowa Got Here: 30-17 win over (13) Colorado State, 34-6 win over (5) Appalachian State
Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras had a career day against Appalachian State, where he threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns with a 71.4% completion percentage.
Against Georgia, Petras was not quite as sharp.
Petras finished 18-for-32 with 206 yards and two interceptions — one being a pick-six.
Running back Tyler Goodson also struggled to get anything going in the run game. He finished with just 48 yards and a touchdown on 15 attempts.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett kept Georgia ahead of the sticks, throwing for 177 yards and a touchdown on 17-for-28 passing.
The running backs were really who gave Georgia its edge.
James Cook finished with 63 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. Zamir White added 58 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries.
Georgia wins, 33-13.
In 100 simulations, Georgia really did a number on Iowa. Georgia won 94 of the simulations by a margin of 34.4-12.3.
Winner’s Next Matchup: Winner of (3) Penn State vs. (10) Memphis
Tomorrow’s Matchup: (5) Florida vs. (8) Maryland
Updated Bracket
Teams Lost, In Order:
PLAY-IN
Massachusetts, Connecticut
ROUND 1
Akron, New Mexico State, Florida International, Temple, New Mexico, Bowling Green, Rice, Vanderbilt, Louisiana-Monroe, Texas State, Arkansas State, Charlotte, Southern Mississippi, Ohio, Kansas, Duke, UNLV, Georgia Southern, UTEP, South Alabama, San Jose State, South Florida, Arizona, Old Dominion, Louisiana Tech, Ball State, Minnesota, Navy, Nebraska, Buffalo, Troy, Colorado State, North Texas, Eastern Michigan, Northwestern, Northern Illinois, Florida Atlantic, Stanford, Tulane, Colorado, Wyoming, Middle Tennessee, Rutgers, Miami University, Indiana, Louisville, Georgia Tech, East Carolina, West Virginia, Central Michigan, Missouri, Syracuse, Tulsa, Western Michigan, Utah State, Liberty, UTSA, Boston College, Nevada, South Carolina, Army, Washington, Air Force, Virginia Tech
ROUND 2
Toledo, Alabama, Illinois, TCU, UAB, Marshall, USC, San Diego State, California, UCF, Washington State, Pittsburgh, Oregon State, Florida State, Baylor, NC State, Louisiana, Ole Miss, Michigan State, Auburn, SMU, Wake Forest, Miami, Western Kentucky, Purdue, Arizona State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Kent State, Kansas State, UCLA, Appalachian State
ROUND 3
Iowa
REMAINING TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:
American: 3/11 (highest remaining: 2. Cincinnati)
ACC: 3/14 (highest remaining: 1. Clemson)
Big 12: 5/10 (highest remaining: 1. Oklahoma, 1. Oklahoma State)
Big Ten: 5/14 (highest remaining: 1. Ohio State, 1. Michigan)
Conference USA: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 6 Western Kentucky, eliminated Day 89)
Independents: 2/7 (highest remaining: 1. Notre Dame)
MAC: 0/12 (last remaining was No. 13 Kent State, eliminated Day 94)
Mountain West: 2/12 (highest remaining: 5. Boise State)
Pac-12: 2/12 (highest remaining: 2. Utah)
SEC: 7/14 (highest remaining: 1. Georgia)
Sun Belt: 2/10 (highest remaining: 6. Coastal Carolina)