A lot of Georgia football fans groused when they saw that the Bulldogs were ranked 11th in the first College Football Playoffs poll, released earlier this week. But Georgia’s scenario making the first-ever is pretty simple.
Just win the rest of its games and it’s in.
But in order to know who to root for going forward, here’s a brief synopsis of what needs to happen to keep the Bulldogs’ path clear.
- Georgia needs Auburn to knock off Ole Miss this Saturday. Both are one-loss teams at this point but the Tigers are the only such team left on the schedule. So the Bulldogs need Auburn (6-1, 3-1 SEC) to take care of business against the Rebels (7-1, 4-1) this weekend in Oxford and then handle Texas A&M on the Plains the next week. That way the Tigers will arrive in Athens on Nov. 15 with their record and No. 3 ranking intact.
- Even better would be for FSU to go down Thursday against Louisville. The Seminoles are currently No. 2 in the first CFB poll. A loss would surely mean Auburn could move up a spot. That could only enhance a Georgia victory in Athens.
- Keep the wild out of the West. At this point, Bulldog fans should just root for No. 1 Mississippi State to win out. It won't be easy as the Maroon Dogs (7-0, 4-0) still have road games at Alabama and Ole Miss to negotiate (not to mention Saturday's home tilt vs. Arkansas). But for the sake of clarity, a one-loss Georgia team meeting and defeating undefeated and No. 1-ranked Mississippi State in the SEC championship means a first-class ticket to the playoffs.
