First CFP Poll Shows Georgia Bulldogs Control Their Own Destiny

The first round of rankings came out for the College Football playoff with Ohio State, LSU, Alabama, and Penn State rounding out the top four. The Georgia Bulldogs are ranked 6th in the initial poll, the highest-ranked one-loss team in the country.

The first poll for the CFP coming out doesn’t mean a lot, usually, with some of these teams having to play each other still before the season ends. LSU and Alabama will face off this weekend. Penn State and Minnesota, two undefeated teams, will play this weekend. Ohio State still has Penn State looming on their schedule. Clemson, the 5th team in the poll, still has to play… Pittsburgh or Virginia in the ACC Championship. With all of that said, there will still be a lot of moving in the polls before this season is over.

Just outside of the top-five, the undefeated team is where the Georgia Bulldogs can be found. The Bulldogs are leading a pack of one-loss teams that include Oregon, Utah, and Oklahoma. It’s easy to assume the committee values Georgia’s two best wins, Notre Dame and Florida, push them in front of any of the other one-loss teams. The one loss for Georgia, double-overtime to South Carolina, is a better loss than Oklahoma losing to Kansas State or Utah falling to USC. Oregon, if they continue to run the table on their schedule, will be the one-loss team to watch. However, if Georgia can finish their season without a loss, there is no doubt about the Bulldogs being in the top-four for the CFP.

For Georgia, the big takeaway from the first poll is that the committee still sees the Bulldogs as one of the elites among college football. Even with the ugly loss, the Georgia Bulldogs are in prime position to get into the top-four if they can take care of their business along the way. That means beating Missouri, Auburn, Texas A&M, Georgia Tech, and LSU/Alabama, depending on which team makes it out of the SEC West. It’s not an easy road to take, but the Georgia Bulldogs are controlling their destiny through the rest of the season. That’s a good place to be, considering how the fanbase felt following the South Carolina loss.