CFP chairman reveals why Georgia is No. 1 in rankings

ATHENS — The College Football Playoff rankings are a numbers game, but with No. 1 Georgia, seeing was believing.

CFP Selection Committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said as much when asked by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the CFP teleconference about the Bulldogs’ standing among the top three or four teams in the second set of CFP rankings.

“I think we rely a lot on the analytics, but in the case of Georgia, we rely a lot on watching film and watching their games,” Yurachek said Tuesday night. “ That game they had this past weekend at Ole Miss was a dominating performance and they look very much like the Georgia team we have seen play every game this year with the exception of the Auburn game.”

The Bulldogs (8-1) were ranked No. 1 in the media polls after a 20-17 win over CFP No. 3 Alabama before suffering the 27-24 upset loss to the Tigers on Oct. 17.

Georgia’s 42-7 win at Ole Miss snapped the Rebels’ 16-game home winning streak and served notice that coach Kirby Smart has his team dialed back in.

Per ESPN’s analytics, the Bulldogs have the No. 2 strength of record and the No. 22 strength of schedule.

Georgia’s statistics are also elite among national leaders:

• 5th in scoring (41.1 points per game)

• 5th in passing efficiency (176.61)

• 6th in 3rd down conversion rate (52.4%)

• 7th in scoring defense (14 points per game)

• 6th in rush defense (83.8 yards per game)

• 6th in sack rate (3.44 per game).

“The committee is very high on Georgia, they have great analytics, but I think more than their analytics, it’s just watching that team,” Yurachek said. “(It’s) how they function defensively and what Gunner Stockton means to that team offensively.

“It’s just a really complete team that the committee is very high on.”

The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs host No. 22 Missouri (6-3) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Sanford Stadium (TV: ABC).

Smart, speaking at his Monday news conference about the strong possibility UGA would ascend to No. 1 in the CFP rankings this week, made his position clear.

“The ranking means nothing …” Smart said, indicating Georgia would not alter its mental or practice approach.

“We went on the road last time and beat a team (Alabama) at night that’s a really good team, too, and didn’t take care of business the next week,” Smart said Saturday. “So, you know, how you handle success says a lot about you.”

The SEC has five of the top 11 ranked teams and nine of the Top 25 teams, with ranked matchups this week featuring Missouri at Georgia and No. 6 Texas at No. 21 LSU (TV: 7:30 p.m., ABC).

Other matchups of teams in the CFP Top 25 include No. 18 USC at No. 9 Indiana (TV: 3:30 p.m., CBS), No. 2 Utah at No. 23 Arizona (TV: 7:30 p.m., Fox) and No. 12 Texas Tech at No. 25 Oklahoma State (TV: 9:30 pm., ESPN).

Here’s how the College Football Playoff bracket would look if the season were to end today:

First round

(Dec. 18-19, at campus locations)

No. 12 Boise State at No. 5 Notre Dame

No. 11 Kentucky at No. 6 Texas

No. 10 BYU at No. Miami

No. 9 Indiana at No. 8 Tennessee

Quarterfinals

(Dec. 30 Fiesta Bowl, Jan. 1 Cotton Bowl, Rose Bowl, Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl)

No. 1 Georgia vs. winner of Indiana at Tennessee

No. 2 Utah vs. winner of BYU at Miami

No. 3 Alabama vs. winner of Kentucky at Texas

No. 4 UCLA vs. winner of Boise State at Notre Dame

Semifinals

(Jan. 14 Orange Bowl, Jan. 15 Sugar Bowl)

CFP championship game

(Jan. 25, Las Vegas)

Here is the second set of CFP rankings:

1. Georgia