Warde Manuel explains why Georgia fell in College Football Playoff rankings, impact of Ole Miss loss

After last week’s loss to Ole Miss, all eyes were on what the College Football Playoff committee would do with a two-loss Georgia. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 3 in the first rankings, but head-to-head records created intrigue around where they’d fall in the second Top 25 and the impact the Week 11 defeat would have.

UGA ultimately fell nine spots to No. 12 in the second CFP rankings. But because Boise State was the highest-ranked Group of 5 team – and, therefore, the projected Mountain West champion – the Bulldogs were the first team out of the 12-team bracket. Notably, Georgia is behind both teams to which it lost, and that was part of the reason Warde Manuel said the Bulldogs fell to 12th.

Manuel detailed the discussions about Georgia, both about the Ole Miss game and the season as a whole. He noted the Bulldogs’ up-and-down year on offense amid Carson Beck’s struggles, but pointed out the impact head-to-head matchups had on their ranking.

“Their offense hasn’t been consistent,” Manuel said on a teleconference with reporters. “The committee discussed that. They’ve struggled with some turnovers. Defense has been solid, although in the loss to Ole Miss, we thought that plays a factor into with the offense struggling, their defense was on the field quite a bit. They have been just lacking some consistency on the offensive side.

“So when you look at where they’re ranked and how they dropped in terms of the teams that are in front of them, both Alabama and Ole Miss beat them in the head-to-head. Obviously, as we went through the rankings and looked at everyone, they obviously fell to 12. But it’s based on who won in front of them and then, head-to-head and everything that we look at, in terms of the body of work.”

Warde Manuel: Strength of schedule is ‘in every comparison we do’

Georgia’s strength of schedule was also a question Manuel received after Tuesday’s rankings reveal. The Bulldogs’ schedule ranks as the hardest in the country through Week 11, according to ESPN. That includes road games against Ole Miss and Texas – the latter of which is one of the best wins of the year.

Warde Manuel acknowledged the importance of strength of schedule in the rankings process. He also alluded to the “eye test” and how teams play, which is also a consideration.

“We look at strength of schedule in every comparison that we do,” Manuel said. “For each team, we see different data points, and strength of schedule is always there. We also look at the games, obviously, and see how a team is playing, see the results of the games and how teams play. We take it into consideration. It’s one of the things we look at each and every time early in the deliberations as we review teams and compare them to others.”