College Football Playoff: Georgia climbs to No. 5 in penultimate rankings
Georgia was ranked No. 12 and the first team out of the College Football Playoff rankings just three weeks ago. After three straight wins, one over a top 10 team, the Bulldogs are now ranked No. 5 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings and they appear like a virtual lock for the 12-team field no matter what happens in the SEC Championship game.
While Georgia sits at the No. 5 seed, it is projected as the No. 7 seed in the playoff due to a pair of projected conference champions, SMU and Boise State, being projected into the top four with auto-bids. The Bulldogs are projected to host Indiana in round one of the playoff.
Oregon is ranked No. 1 followed by Georgia’s SEC Championship game opponent, Texas at No. 2. Penn State is No. 3 and Notre Dame is No. 4. Ohio State is being UGA with Tennessee SMU, Indiana, and Boise State rounding out the top 10. Alabama comes in at No. 11 and Miami at No. 12. The Crimson Tide is projected as the last team at this point.
Georgia has played the nation’s toughest schedule according to a number of metrics and it earned a record of 10-2 in the regular season. The Bulldogs needed eight overtimes to grab that 10th win on Friday, climbing out of a a 17-point hole at halftime and overcoming two 14-point deficits in the fourth quarter to win 44-42.
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The two teams traded successes and failures for six overtime periods after that with Georgia, riding the momentum of a goal-llne stop of Georgia Tech from the one and a half yard line, putting it away in the eighth. Freshman tailback Nate Frazier converted the dueling two-point play for the walk-off win.
The Bulldogs have wins over the No. 2, No. 6, and No. 17 teams in the nation according to the newest College Football Playoff rankings. Georgia took down Texas at its place in October and beat Tennessee in Athens last month. UGA started the season with a 34-3 win over Clemson, which is currently outside of the projected field but could get in with a win over SMU in the ACC Championship game.
If Georgia beats Texas in the league title game, it will be no lower than the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs wouldn’t play again until January 1 in the Sugar Bowl. Should the Bulldogs fall to the Longhorns, it will be at the committee’s mercy. Prevalent thought, however, suggests that the committee will be hesitant to drop teams who are playing on conference title weekend behind teams that are not.
