NCAA Football News and Notes for December 24

Bowl season is in full swing, and college football fans around the nation are buzzing as their teams prepare for their last games of the season.
With the College Football Playoffs set to get underway on December 31, the next several weeks should be filled with some amazing football.
As most of the focus is on the matchups, let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories from around college football this week.
National Title Could Be Won By….Forfeit?
With the Omicron variant causing COVID-19 havoc around the nation, college football has shown that it is not immune to its complications. On Wednesday, the College Football Playoffs announced their potential cancellation policies.
First, it appears the title game, which is scheduled for January 10, could move to anywhere as late as January 14 if needed due to a lack of players from one of the semifinal winners.
Furthermore, if one of the four teams (Alabama, Michigan, Georgia, Cincinnati) is unable to play in the semifinal, that game will be forfeited, with the other team moving on automatically.
Hypothetically, if three of the four teams can’t play in the semifinals on December 31, the one team remaining will be named the national champion. If one semifinal can’t be played because both teams have outbreaks, the winner of the other semifinal will be the champion.
At the end of the day, these are worst-case scenarios, but scenarios that could come into play. After all, Texas A&M just recently pulled out of the Gator Bowl due to not having enough players.
There are already concerns in Alabama’s program when it comes to COVID. On Wednesday, the university announced that two assistant coaches, Bill O’Brien and Doug Marrone, had tested positive and were isolating.
Looking Ahead To The College Football Playoffs
With the hope that the playoffs are not hampered by COVID-19, let’s take a look at the current odds for each of the four teams.
In the Orange Bowl, the No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs will be taking on the No. 2 Michigan Wolverines. Despite being the lower seed, the Bulldogs are the favorites in this one.
They are -300 to win while the Wolverines’ moneyline sits at +235. The spread features Michigan +7.5 (-105), and the over/under for total points is 44.5 (-110).
For the Cotton Bowl, the No. 4 Cincinnati Bearcats will take on the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide.
Alabama is the heavy favorite in this one as they are -650 to win.
Cincinnati’s moneyline sits at +440. The spread features the Bearcats +14 (-115), and the over/under for total points is 57.5 (-110).
Major Announcements In The Transfer Portal
With the advent of the transfer portal, players have more freedom now than ever before to move to other schools if they find theirs are either not the right fit or if they are stuck behind others in the depth chart.
This year is no exception, as several significant players have found new homes. Here are a few of the announced transfers from this week.
First, former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix has found a new home in the Northwest. The star quarterback will be moving to Oregon to continue his football career. This season, in 10 games, Nix threw for 2,294 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions for an Auburn team that finished the season 6-6 and 3-5 in the SEC.
Nix was unable to finish the season after suffering an ankle injury against Mississippi State.
Elsewhere, Alabama is bringing in more talent as running back Jahmyr Gibbs is transferring to the Crimson Tide from Georgia Tech. This will give Nick Saban another experienced weapon as Gibbs rushed for 746 yards and four touchdowns this season. He also was lethal in the passing game as he had 465 yards receiving with another two scores.
Aside from these two, a couple of other significant transfers include quarterback Kedon Slovis (2,153 yards passing, 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions) going from USC to Pittsburgh.
Also, quarterback Max Johnson (2,814 yards passing, 27 touchdowns, six interceptions) will be transferring from LSU to Texas A&M. Of note, Johnson’s brother, Jake Johnson, has also committed to Texas A&M.