2022 NFL Draft Prospects to Watch: Cincinnati vs. Alabama

The first College Football Playoff semifinal pits #1 Alabama against #4 Cincinnati in a game littered with 2022 NFL Draft prospects.

CFP Semifinal, Cotton Bowl, AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas

#4 Cincinnati vs. #1 Alabama

For the University of Cincinnati football team, the dream season continues this Friday on New Year’s Eve. The Bearcats went into the year knowing they had to win every game they played (including road tests against Indiana and Notre Dame) in order to even have a chance at the College Football Playoff. They answered the bell at every turn, finishing the regular season a perfect 13-0 as the only remaining FBS team without a loss. They are the first group of five team to make the College Football Playoff, and they’ll be 13.5-point underdogs against Alabama Friday.

The Crimson Tide will be playing in their seventh College Football Playoff Semifinal in eight tries. This is becoming old hat for them. But this year their path to the playoff was more circuitous. They have looked great at times (beating undefeated Georgia by 17, thumping an Ole Miss team by 21 that finished 10-2) and pedestrian at others (losing to Texas A&M who went 4-4 in conference, only beating slumping LSU and Auburn by a combined 8 points). But they still have Nick Saban, the best college football coach of all time at the helm, and Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Bryce Young under center. Alabama has several players that will be suiting up on Sundays next year, but two of them won’t be in action this weekend.

Wide receiver John Metchie III tore his ACL in the SEC Championship Game and he’ll miss the rest of the season. Starting cornerback Josh Jobe will also sit this one out for Alabama as he’s been dealing with a nasty turf toe injury that required surgery. But this game is worth watching simply for the matchups on the outside, the first of which we’ll cover in the next slide.