Initial College Football Playoff rankings have Georgia safely in the field of 12

ATHENS — The first College Football Playoff rankings of the season are out, with the Georgia Bulldogs coming in at No. 5.

To this point in the season, Georgia is 7-1 and 4-1 in SEC play. The Bulldogs have ranked wins over No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 25 Tennessee. The lone loss came against No. 4 Alabama, one of nine SEC teams ranked in the top 25.

Atop the College Football Playoff rankings for Week 11 are Ohio State, followed by Indiana at No. 2. Texas A&M rounds out the top five at No. 3.

Georgia will have the opportunity to add to its resume, as the Bulldogs have games against No. 11 Texas and No. 17 Georgia Tech on the schedule. Georgia hosts Texas on Nov. 15 while it plays the Yellow Jackets on Nov. 28 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

Given where both teams currently rank, those two games will likely have a significant impact on the College Football Playoff rankings moving forward. The rankings will be put out every Tuesday in November, along with Dec. 2. The final rankings will debut on Dec. 7, at which point the five-highest rated conference champions and the seven highest at-large teams will compete in the 12-team playoff.

One notable change from last year is that the four teams that earn first-round byes will be the four highest-ranked seeds, as opposed to the four top-ranked conference champions like last season, when Georgia was the No. 2 seed after winning the SEC.

Of note, Memphis is the highest-ranked conference champion not in the top 25. If the College Football Playoff were to start this weekend, Georgia would host Memphis. Should Georgia win that game, the Bulldogs would face Alabama in the quarterfinals.

Georgia still has a path to the SEC Championship game, but it will need help as Alabama and Texas A&M have yet to drop a league game.

Georgia next takes on a Mississippi State that will look to upend Georgia’s season. The Bulldogs lost to Texas A&M earlier in the season but are coming off an SEC win over Arkansas.

That this game will be played in Davis Wade Stadium, where the Bulldogs took Texas to overtime earlier this season, makes the game all the trickier for Georgia.

“The energy, enthusiasm coming out of that program, you can see it in the way their kids play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “They’ve got no quit in them. These guys have competed. They’ve been in every game they’ve played. They have upgraded the talent level since he’s been there. You look at the group he’s put together defensively, offensively and special teams. They’ve got really good players all over the field.”

Georgia’s game at Mississippi State is set for a noon ET start, with ESPN broadcasting the game.