Lock Georgia football in the Playoff

At seasons end, the Georgia football team will own the toughest schedule in college football. Are the Dawgs locked in the College Football Playoffs, even as a two-loss team?

The notion seems preposterous if you are sitting in Ann Arbor, Michigan or Norman, Oklahoma, but barring a Mercedes-Benz blowout disaster, this Georgia football team should already have its ticket to the College Football Playoffs.

The College Football Playoff committee is charged with choosing and seeding the four best teams into the CFP playoff. Right now, the committee says Georgia is the number four team. When Georgia leaves the field Saturday night – whether it’s before or after the awarding of the SEC Championship trophy – it will still be one of the best four teams in the country.

Prepare the safe zones

The weeping and wailing from fans across the country would be deafening and the result will probably be the unfortunate catalyst to somehow expanding the playoff to six teams. Still, the facts are on the Bulldogs side.

Entering Saturday’s contest – one which a month ago looked like a cakewalk for the Tide but has now acquired the drama of a heavyweight championship – Georgia is not only ranked fourth by the CFP Committee, but has played the third toughest schedule in the country. Put a cherry on that SOS, because the only non-SEC team with a top ten in strength of schedule is Michigan. The SEC, in fact, claims ten of the top 15 schedules in the country.

Georgia football’s case

After playing Alabama on Saturday, Georgia will own the nation’s highest ranked strength of schedule. The logic for penalizing the Dawgs for an increasing strength of schedule does not exist.

The Dawgs only loss came on the road to number ten CFP ranked LSU. It is the highest ranked loss by any team now ranked in the top ten by the CFP committee. Georgia also beat the ninth ranked Gators. Only Ohio State and Notre Dame beat a higher ranked team among the CFP contenders. Georgia also handily took down both number 15 ranked Kentucky and number 24 ranked Missouri on the road.

Oklahoma and Ohio State are the likely challengers for the CFP bid Georgia has earned. Both teams are ranked lower, and neither opponent in their conference championship games ranks in the top ten.

Just win

The simple answer for Georgia football is to beat Bama. They have a chance, and there is no reason to think these Bulldogs will flinch.

Football civil war

History suggests the College Football Playoff Committee leans toward choosing the most deserving, not the best four teams for the CFP playoff, so this Georgia football team has work to do. But if the Committee should choose the 2018 season to re-assert its original charge, look for college football fans west of the Mississippi and north of the Mason-Dixon line to come over the wall.

On the other hand, if the Dawgs should take the latest battle of Atlanta, the shock will be just as great and a lot more fun to watch.