Georgia Bulldogs up to 10th in latest College Football Playoff rankings

The Volunteers (8-2) were one of two teams ranked ahead of Georgia that lost last weekend. No. 6 BYU, which fell to Kansas, was the other. They fell to Nos. 11 and 14, respectively.

More teams will need to go down for the Bulldogs to get where they want to be. If Georgia does not make the SEC Championship game – at this point its likely they won’t – its best bet for advancing in the playoff would be to host a first-round game on campus. The four teams seeded fifth through eighth will have that opportunity. Right now, Georgia is not there.

As of now, the Bulldogs would be seeded 11th and have to open the playoffs on the road. Based on Tuesday seedings -- which will have to change over the next three weeks -- Georgia would play Penn State (9-1) as a No. 6 seed in Happy Valley, Pennsylvania.

Selection committee chairman Warde Manuel, who is athletic director at Michigan, was asked in the post-announcement teleconference Tuesday why the Bulldogs did not rise further in the current rankings despite the comparative lack of top-25 competition among the first six teams.

“We really had a long debate as a committee about Georgia and Mississippi, Miami, Alabama, really all the teams, but really intense conversations about those teams and where they were ranked and why,” Manuel said. “It was very, very thorough. But, you know, we’re dealing with very small margins in terms of the different things we’re looking at and comparing. And, so, I can assure you that the committee went through it intensely the last couple of days.”

Manuel was asked specifically why No. 3 Texas (9-1) remains seven spots ahead of the Bulldogs despite losing head-to-head on its home field and not having any other wins over ranked opponents.

“As the committee analyzed the body of work of Texas versus where Georgia is at this present time with two losses even to top-25 teams, it came out that Texas is still a very strong team deserving of a 3 seed,” Manuel said. “They have a top-5 defense and Quinn Ewers leads one of the top passing offenses in the country. So, it just came out with them at 3.

“It’s nothing against Georgia; they’re a great team,” Manuel continued. “They did struggle against Ole Miss but they had a great win against Tennessee this past week. We will continue to monitor both teams and see how it goes in the next few weeks.”

Ole Miss (8-2) moved up two spots despite being idle this past week.

The Bulldogs, who have completed their conference schedule at 6-2, have games remaining Saturday versus Massachusetts (2-8) and Nov. 29 against Georgia Tech (6-4). Georgia still could make the SEC Championship game, though it would be dependent upon Alabama and/or Texas losing.

Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin is among several coaches who have said that a home playoff game is a more advantageous route. Georgia’s Kirby Smart won’t enter into that debate.

“That’s a hypothetical,” he said before Tuesday’s reveal. “The focus is on UMass (Georgia’s opponent at 12:45 p.m. Saturday). I mean, it really is. So, why would I put energy or time into trying to figure out what the best pathway is, including the SEC championship, when I’m worried about UMass? I just don’t think it’s a quality conversation.”

For now at least, it appears as if the committee is not placing great value on strength of schedule (S.O.S). The Bulldogs’ S.O.S. ranks No. 1 based on all available metrics. Meanwhile, Oregon and Ohio State’s only ranked games were against each other until the committee slid in Illinois at No. 25 on Tuesday.

The prevalence of Big Ten teams atop the rankings -- four of the top five -- versus the glut of SEC teams behind them remains a curiosity. After Texas, only No. 8 Miami separated Alabama, Ole Miss, Georgia and Tennessee at Nos. 7 through 11. As ESPN’s panel of analysts pointed out on the broadcast, the Bulldogs as well as the other three SEC members would likely be significantly favored in a neutral-site matchup against all but the top two teams.

“It’s really splitting hairs,” Manuel said of the SEC teams. “The committee had a really hard time. You’re talking about four really good teams. ... We debated it quite a bit as to how we saw those teams, but they have beaten each other at different times. But Alabama, the last three games in particular, has won in dominant fashion. ... But it is close.”

Georgia has been all over the place when it comes to rankings this season. The Bulldogs opened the season as the consensus preseason No. 1 pick in both The Associated Press poll and coaches’ poll. Sticking with the AP, they fell to No. 2 after a lackluster 13-12 win over Kentucky in Week 4, to No. 5 after a 41-24 road loss to then-No. 4 Alabama, then rose to No. 2 again after knocking off then-No. 1 Texas 30-15 on Oct. 19 in Austin.

The opinion polls gave way to the 2024 CFP ranking Nov. 4. That’s when the Bulldogs were judged to be No. 3 in the first of what will be five rankings that ultimately will determine which teams participate in the first 12-team playoff in college football history.

Georgia plummeted to No. 12 after falling to then-No. 16 OIe Miss 28-10 in Oxford on Nov. 9. The Rebels subsequently moved up to No. 11.

CFP RANKINGS (Week 13)