The 2021 college football season was a wild one to be sure. But one college football analyst just released predictions for the 2022 college season that would make last year pale in comparison.
Over the weekend, FOX Sports college football analyst R.J. Young released his predictions for next year’s New Year’s Six games. Young decided to shake things up by locking in a bunch of unfamiliar faces.
The 12 teams that Young has on his list are Michigan, Houston, Arkansas, Clemson, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Alabama, Georgia, Nebraska, Utah, Ole Miss and Oklahoma. He has Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State and Texas A&M in the College Football Playoff.
Two teams in the same conference making the College Football Playoff is already contentious. Three would be unprecedented (and might make a lot of people angry enough to force a change).
Here are Young’s predicted matchups for the 2022 New Year’s Six:
- Michigan vs. Houston, Cotton Bowl
- Arkansas vs. Clemson, Orange Bowl
- Texas A&M vs. Ohio State, Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff)
- Alabama vs. Georgia, Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff)
- Nebraska vs. Utah, Rose Bowl
- Ole Miss vs. Oklahoma, Sugar Bowl
The usual suspects like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Clemson all made the cut. But there are some notable outliers here.
Arkansas, Houston and Nebraska seem like the most controversial choices on R.J. Young’s list here. The Razorbacks haven’t played in a New Year’s Six game in years, while the Cougars seems like they’re well behind Cincinnati in the AAC peckin order.
But their limitations are nothing compared to the problems the Nebraska Cornhuskers have dealt with. Of the dozen teams that made Young’s list, none would have to make a bigger turnaround in one year that the Huskers.
What do you make of this list?