State of Play: Georgia’s playoff push begins Saturday
For Georgia, the road to the College Football Playoff begins Saturday with its SEC opener against Tennessee.
Both teams made the playoff a year ago, with the Volunteers losing in the first round to eventual national champion Ohio State. Georgia lost in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal to eventual runner-up Notre Dame.
Both Georgia and Tennessee have strong teams that are likely to contend for a CFP spot in 2025. It may be early for the Bulldogs, but here’s this week state of play regarding the playoff hunt.
With a win against Tennessee
The first CFP rankings don’t come out until November 4, so a lot will happen before then. Even so, a win over Tennessee will look great in the College Football Playoff Selection Committee’s eyes, given that the Volunteers figure to be highly competitive in each game they play this season.
The Bulldogs probably would stay at No. 6 in the AP poll with a win, barring an unexpected loss by one of the other teams ranked ahead of them. However, it doesn’t really matter as the AP poll isn’t relevant since the only poll that matters is the final College Football Playoff rankings.
With a loss against Tennessee
Like last year, Georgia can probably afford two losses — maybe three — and still reach the playoff. But losing this early in the season given their arduous schedule will make things awfully difficult.
Starting with Tennessee, Georgia is slated to play five ranked opponents in its next eight games. Ideally for Georgia, they go no worse than 3-2 in those games. However they may need to go 4-1 since there are still games against Mississippi State (coming off an upset win over Arizona State), Florida (a struggling team but a rival, nonetheless) and Georgia Tech (a rival that could be ranked by the time the two teams face each other). Yes, this Tennessee game is early but it’s still very important.
Games of note
No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 8 Notre Dame: Notre Dame already has a loss to Miami. A defeat against Texas A&M would dampen the Fighting Irish’s playoff hopes given the tough schedule it has this year.
Vanderbilt at No. 11 South Carolina: Virginia Tech played South Carolina tough for four quarters. Vanderbilt pulled away and blew the Hokies out a week later. Diego Pavia’s the real deal and an upset on the road could shake up the SEC and the overall playoff picture.
No. 12 Clemson at Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets are more like the Pesky Mosquitos. They stick around, they won’t go away, and before you know it, you’re itching all over your arms and legs. Clemson can’t afford an ACC loss this early in the year after dropping the non-conference opener against LSU two weeks ago.
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