Paul Finebaum: Why an Alabama loss in SEC title game shouldn't disqualify UGA from CFP

Paul Finebaum doesn’t believe a potential loss to Alabama in the SEC title game should knock Georgia out of the College Football Playoff.

In some seasons, the Bulldogs would’ve already clinched their spot. However, the CFP race in 2023 has been as tight as ever. Regardless, Finebaum believes Georgia should be in the Top 4, regardless of what happens in the SEC title game in two weeks.

“That should not be a question. We’re talking about Georgia. … They haven’t lost in forever. They will win Saturday night against Georgia Tech. The 29th straight game. That’s never happened before in the SEC. It’s hardly ever happened before in college football. You might have to go to Bud Wilkinson in the fifties to find a point of reference. I think there’s another one in there,” Finebaum said, via ESPN’s Get Up. “This is a dynasty that we’re talking about. What does that have to do with this year? Georgia’s still the best team this year.

“If they lose one game to a very good Alabama team, I don’t think it should disqualify them. It certainly shouldn’t disqualify them against some of the other teams we’re talking about. Of course, that has to happen. I don’t know that many people that are predicting it.”

Some teams will certainly have a problem with Finebaum’s assertion. Still, it’s a tough point to argue against. While Georgia’s schedule has leaned soft in 2023, they still are the reigning, defending, undefeated back-to-back champions of the college football world.

Alabama loss or not, it’s tough to believe the committee will knock Georgia out of the dance. Paul Finebaum certainly doesn’t see it.

Boo Corrigan explains why Georgia is ‘the best team in the country right now’

For the second straight week, Georgia finds itself atop the College Football Playoffrankings on the heels of a big, ranked victory. This time, though, it happened on the road.

The Bulldogs are coming off a resounding 38-10 victory over Tennessee — doing so at Neyland Stadium. It marked their second consecutive blowout win over a ranked team after defeating Ole Miss 52-10 to re-take the top spot in the CFP rankings. Based on the performance against the Volunteers, though, it sure feels like Georgia is starting to create some separation from the rest of the rankings.

That’s an interesting thought considering the top five teams are all undefeated. According to Boo Corrigan, the chairman of the College Football Playoff selection committee, Georgia’s performance in such a hostile environment helped them stay firmly atop the Top 25.

“We’re sitting on six total undefeated teams, five in the top five. I think it’s a pretty unique time for us,” Corrigan said on a post-reveal show teleconference. “But as we talked about it in the room, Tennessee scores on their first offensive play, whatever it is, 105, 110,000 people going crazy. To see Georgia score on six of their first eight possessions was incredibly impressive. It was incredibly impressive.

“But I think there’s a lot of really good football teams in the country right now, and they’re certainly one of them but not only one of them, they’re the team that we believe is the best team in the country right now.”

On3’s Nick Schultz contributed to this article.