Georgia Stays At 4 In CFP Rankings
By Deke Lloyd
The newest edition of the College Football Playoff rankings hit the air last night. Not much has changed, at least among top-five teams.
Once again, Georgia came in at the 4th spot after their thrillingly mundane performance against Texas A&M. Clemson, LSU, and Ohio State round out to last three spots ahead of Georgia, the same order from last week with LSU and Ohio State flip flopping. With little change likely to happen this week, this should be the top-four going into Championship weekend.
Georgia has one final test, with Georgia Tech, before marching to Atlanta to face off with the LSU Tigers. With both teams residing in the top-four, the SEC Championship game has become a de facto play-in game for the SEC Champs. If Georgia wins in Atlanta, it seems likely the committee would keep LSU in the mix for the top-four. With Oregon dropping off last week, I don’t see the committee sticking Alabama, Utah, or Oklahoma in over a one-loss LSU team. With that said, if Georgia loses, they’re done and playing in the Cotton Bowl.
Georgia continues to not be docked for their weekly, one touchdown score wins. This week it was Texas A&M who almost knocked the Bulldogs off, but like they have all season, Georgia found the one stop they needed to end the game. It is somewhat worrisome to have to watch this Georgia team eek out wins when the talent on the Georgia roster greatly exceeds what the other team has. This season, Georgia has hung their hat on defense while the offense has looked inept most of the season. If Georgia wants to win in Atlanta in two weeks, they’ll need more than just a stout defense to get past LSU.
However, before we get to the SEC Championship game, Georgia has to deal with their instate rival, Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is in the midst of a very bad season, but that doesn’t mean Georgia can’t use this game to fine tune a few things for LSU. Also, if the game does get out of hand quickly, the coaches for Georgia will have the option to give their starters some rest while LSU has to deal with Texas A&M. The LSU-Georgia matchup is so close, we can see it, but before that, Georgia Tech is next.