Photo credit: Tony Walsh/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 127
(1) Georgia vs. (1) Michigan
How Georgia Got Here: 34-16 win over (16) Akron, 34-23 win over (9) Toledo, 33-13 win over (4) Iowa, 27-20 win over (3) Penn State, 37-9 win over (3) Texas
How Michigan Got Here: 20-7 win over (16) Temple, 58-23 win over (9) TCU, 37-10 win over (5) Mississippi State, 34-16 win over (6) Coastal Carolina, 37-34 win over (1) Oklahoma
In the College Football Playoff semifinals, Georgia took down Michigan by a score of 34-11. Would this semifinal be any different?
Not if the Michigan rush defense had anything to say about it. Georgia running backs James Cook and Zamir White were held to a combined 60 yards on 15 carries.
The Bulldog running backs being bottled up was in contrast to Michigan running back Hassan Haskins, who crossed the 100-yard mark on a late 9-yard rushing touchdown.
The downside for Michigan and Haskins, is that the Wolverines’ yards per carry was only narrowly better than the Bulldogs’.
While no Bulldog rusher topped 32 yards, Haskins only averaged 4.2 yards per carry — just 0.2 yards per carry more than Georgia’s offense.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett lived off of big plays in this one. He finished 24-for-38 passing for 421 yards and four touchdowns. After settling down from an early interception, Bennett found a groove.
That groove included finding receiver Jermaine Burton for a total of 95 yards and a touchdown on five catches.
Receiver Jackson Meeks made the most of his two targets — two streaks that netted 75 yards and two touchdowns.
Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara was 16-for-27 for 210 yards and an interception.
Ultimately, it was Michigan’s inability to move the ball consistently on the ground or find chunk plays through the air that limited the Wolverine offense.
Much like the College Football Playoff Semifinal of 2021, Georgia wins by multiple scores. Instead of 34-11, this time the margin is 34-7.
In 100 simulations, Georgia won 75 of them by a margin of 29.1-19.1.
With Michigan’s loss, that means the Big Ten has been eliminated. We are down to two SEC teams and a Pac-12 team.
Winner’s Next Matchup: Winner of (2) Utah vs. (4) Tennessee
Tomorrow’s Matchup: (2) Utah vs. (4) Tennessee
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, Florida, Ohio State, Mississippi State, Houston, Boise State, Oklahoma State, BYU, Iowa State, LSU, North Carolina, Fresno State, Wisconsin, Georgia State, Virginia, Memphis
ROUND 4
Penn State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Coastal Carolina, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Clemson
ROUND 5
Texas, Maryland, Oregon, Oklahoma
ROUND 6
Michigan
REMAINING TEAMS BY CONFERENCE:
American: 0/11 (last remaining was No. 2 Cincinnati, eliminated Day 120)
ACC: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 1 Clemson, eliminated Day 121)
Big 12: 0/10 (last remaining was No. 1 Oklahoma, eliminated Day 125)
Big Ten: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 1 Michigan, eliminated Day 126)
Conference USA: 0/14 (last remaining was No. 6 Western Kentucky, eliminated Day 89)
Independents: 0/7 (last remaining was No. 1 Notre Dame, eliminated Day 119)
MAC: 0/12 (last remaining was No. 13 Kent State, eliminated Day 94)
Mountain West: 0/12 (last remaining was No. 7 Fresno State, eliminated Day 109)
Pac-12: 1/12 (highest remaining: 2. Utah)
SEC: 2/14 (highest remaining: 1. Georgia)
Sun Belt: 0/10 (last remaining was No. 6 Coastal Carolina, eliminated Day 117)