Georgia jumps to No. 1 in newest College Football Playoff rankings
The third set of College Football Playoff rankings are out in 2023 and Georgia is back in a very familiar spot. The Bulldogs, after a 52-17 dismantling of now No. 13 Ole Miss, are now the nation’s No. 1 team. They leapfrogged Ohio State in this week’s rankings and the Buckeyes sit at No. 2.
Michigan holds at No. 3 while Florida State rolls on at No. 4. Washington is still the first team out of the projected four-team playoff at No. 5 and Oregon remains the highest-ranked one-loss team at No. 6. The Huskies handed Oregon that one loss.
Georgia debuted at No. 3 last season but that didn’t last long. The first matchup after the rankings came out was against No. 1-ranked Tennessee. The Bulldogs hosted the Volunteers and dominated the game, jumping out to a 27-6 lead and then surrendering an inconsequential score in the fourth quarter. That win allowed the Kirby Smart and company to jump into the No. 1 spot and they never gave it up.
The win over Tennessee pushed Georgia’s record to 9-0 and the Bulldogs went on to win six straight to earn its second straight National Championship. UGA notched a 50-30 win over LSU in the SEC Championship game. It then faced off with Ohio State in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl where it took some Stetson Bennett heroics and a fourth-quarter comeback to beat the Buckeyes 42-41.
The National Championship game was a completely different story as Georgia took on TCU in Los Angeles and destroyed the Big12 team. The Bulldogs dominated from start to finish and beat the Horned Frogs by a score of 65-7.
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This year’s version of the Bulldogs hasn’t always looked dominant. UGA’s first two SEC games of the season were struggles as they trailed in the third quarter of both games. South Carolina, in week three, took a 14-3 lead into halftime before Georgia scored 21 unanswered in the second half to win 24-14. Auburn jumped on Georgia 10-0 and led 17-10 in the third quarter before the Bulldogs went on a 17-3 run to win 27-20.
The next three league contests, however, have looked much better. Georgia controlled all three games, beating Kentucky 51-13, Vanderbilt 37-20, and Florida 43-20. The Bulldogs have won back-to-back games against ranked teams. They took down then-No. 12 ranked Missouri on November 4, causing the Tigers to fall to No. 14 for one week. They are now up to No. 9.
Ole Miss was No. 9 when it came to Athens on November 11 but after being tied at 14 in the second quarter, Georgia went on a 31-0 run to take control of the game and, in total, finished on a 38-3 run. Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to Knoxville to take on Tennessee. The three-loss Volunteers are ranked No. 18 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
