ATHENS – There certainly was no surprise in Georgia remaining No. 1 in the fourth College Football Rankings release of the season Tuesday night. The Bulldogs looked dominant in every sense of the word in defeating a top 25-ranked Tennessee team 38-10 on the road before over 100,000 fans Saturday night in Knoxville.
But there was a new No. 4 among the top four Tuesday – the Washington Huskies -- and that could become relevant to Georgia (11-0) later if it can win its next two games against Georgia Tech and Alabama and hang onto the No. 1 spot.
“I think it’s a pretty unique time for us,” CFP selection committee chairman Boo Coorigan said of having five undefeated teams among the top 5. “But we talked about it in the room, we saw Tennessee score on its first play in front of, whatever it is, 105,000, 110,000 (fans) going crazy. And then to see Georgia score on six of their eight possessions was incredibly impressive.
“But I think there’s a lot of really good teams in the country right now and (the Bulldogs) certainly are one of them. Not only one of them, but the team we believe is the best team in the country right now.”
Tennessee (7-4) dropped to 21st from No. 18 after the loss to Georgia.
The Huskies (11-0) leapfrogged unbeaten Florida State for the all-important fourth position. That shake-up had some folks shook up Tuesday night.
The Seminoles (11-0) fell despite easily defeating North Alabama 58-13 in Tallahassee. However, in that game, FSU lost starting quarterback Jordan Travis to a season-ending injury. Speculation was rampant that is ultimately why the ‘Noles dropped.
“Didn’t have any impact,” Corrigan insisted. “We were watching the game. Florida State starts off down 13, (quarterback Tate) Rodemaker comes into the game, they score 58 consecutive points. They have a lot of dudes on the field, a lot of guys that can play. As we’re looking at it, that’s where we are this week.”
All the way across the continent, Washington found itself in a completely different kind of game. Facing a talented 12th-ranked Oregon State team in the rain on the road at Reser Stadium, the Huskies held on for a hard-fought 22-20 victory.
“It really was about Washington,” Corrigan said of the Huskies moving to 4. “Washington this past weekend went up to Reser Stadium, a tough place to play. Their defense has come around and has played well the last six quarters, giving up a total of 20 points. We know that it was a rainy day, but in total, again, that’s what we’re looking at. We are talking about different data points, (but) watching games does matter.”
Corrigan repeated several times the committee’s message that who, where and how teams play is crucial to the 13-person panel’s decisions. And with the league title games around the corner, he also emphasized repeatedly that “conference championships matter.”
After facing Georgia Tech on Saturday in Atlanta (7:30 p.m., ABC), the Bulldogs still have a game remaining against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. The Crimson Tide (10-1, 8-0), which plays Auburn on the Plains on Saturday (3:30 p.m., CBS), remained at No. 8 and on the outside looking in unless they win out.
Alabama is undefeated in three SEC Championship games against Georgia.
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