The Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 2 seed in ESPN’s latest College Football Playoff predictions (subscription required). In this scenario, Georgia would win the SEC championship game and receive a coveted first-round bye in the playoff.
Georgia’s first opponent is predicted to be the seventh-seeded Texas Longhorns. ESPN projects Georgia to face Texas in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. As the No. 2 seed, Georgia would play the winner of the game between No. 7 Texas and No. 10 BYU or Indiana (ESPN has two projections).
What confuses me about this projection is why is Georgia playing Texas in New Orleans. To my knowledge, the Bulldogs would be able to pick where they play in the quarterfinals as the No. 2 seed. If UGA can control where it plays, the Dawgs will almost certainly pick Atlanta, which is an option for the quarterfinals.
For now, ESPN has Texas ranked as the third-best at-large team behind Ohio State and Penn State. However, if the season ended today based on the SEC standings neither Georgia nor Texas would not make the SEC championship.
“Under my scenario, Georgia and Texas would meet again — possibly for the third time if they face each other in the SEC championship game — in the Sugar Bowl in the quarterfinals,” said Mark Schlabach of ESPN.
The expanded playoff brings more excitement for more teams in the postseason, but it opens up the possibility of some teams playing each other two or three times in one season.
ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura projects Georgia will play No. 6 Ohio State in the semifinals in Miami. Schlabach has Georgia playing No. 3 Miami in Dallas.
Both analysts predict Georgia will meet No. 1 Oregon in the national championship. However, with potential games against Texas and Ohio State, there’s no guarantee the Bulldogs will advance to the title game.
