ESPN projects that the Georgia Bulldogs will be ranked No. 7 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. In ESPN’s projections (subscription required), Georgia is expected to be ranked behind No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Texas, No. 4 Penn State, No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 6 Miami.
Georgia benefited from chaos and upsets across the SEC in Week 13. Florida upset Ole Miss, Texas A&M lost in four overtimes at Auburn and Alabama lost on the road to Oklahoma. Meanwhile, Georgia beat UMass 59-21 and is now beginning to prepare for Georgia Tech.
Georgia has clinched an SEC championship berth, so the Bulldogs control their own playoff destiny. If Georgia beats the winner of the Texas at Texas A&M game in the SEC championship game, then the Bulldogs will clinch a spot in the playoff and would likely end up as the No. 2 seed.
“The Bulldogs were huge winners on Saturday, as they clinched a spot in the SEC title game after both Ole Miss and Alabama lost. It also paved the way for the committee to rank the Bulldogs ahead of both of those teams, rendering the head-to-head results moot for the first time,” said ESPN’s Heather Dinich on projecting Georgia to be ranked No. 7.
Georgia could still end up in the playoff with a loss in the SEC championship (assuming Georgia beats Georgia Tech). Georgia has one of the best résumés in the country.
“The selection committee will have to seriously consider a three-loss SEC team if the Bulldogs finish as runner-up,” said Dinich. The trouble for Georgia is that both Alabama and Ole Miss have three losses and head to head wins over Georgia, the Bulldogs could end up ranked behind Alabama and Ole Miss again.
ESPN projects that if the season ended today, then Georgia would be the No. 8 seed in the playoff bracket. Georgia would host No. 9 seed Tennessee in the first-round of the playoff. Of course, Georgia will either win or lose in the SEC championship, so the Bulldogs would likely end up as either the No. 2 seed (with a first-round bye) or as one of the last teams in (or out) of the playoff.
