Georgia continues to hold No. 5 ranking in updated College Football Playoff bracket

ATHENS — Georgia played one of its best games of the season this past week in a blowout win over Mississippi State.

Georgia won 41-21 on the road against a team that had given College Football Playoff hopefuls Texas and Tennessee trouble. Yet because the four teams ranked ahead of Georgia all also won, the Bulldogs yet again find themselves ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings for Week 12.

Ohio State remained at No. 1 after its win over Purdue. Indiana came in at No. 2, with Texas A&M at No. 3. Alabama remained at No. 4 as the highest-ranked one-loss team in the country.

Were the College Football Playoff to start this week, Georgia would host No. 24 USF in a home playoff game. USF is the highest-ranked Group of Five team, earning the final spot in the field as the No. 12 seed. The winner would play No. 4 Alabama in the quarterfinals.

Behind Georgia, Texas Tech did move up to No. 6 after it beat No. 12 BYU this past weekend.

Georgia’s Week 12 opponent also moved up because of the BYU loss, as the Texas Longhorns are No. 10.

Whereas Georgia was beating Mississippi State, Texas had the week to rest up and prepare for Georgia.

Saturday’s game will be a top-10 matchup, the only one of the weekend. Yet Georgia isn’t all that concerned with where it sits in the current College Football Playoff rankings.

It knows it must keep winning in order to make it back into the College Football Playoff for a fourth time in five seasons.

“I mean, you can take a look at them, but just kind of focus on the game ahead of you,” Georgia offensive tackle Monroe Freeling said. “Like, the rankings are rankings, but I don’t really concern myself much with them.”

If Georgia wins on Saturday, it would move to 9-1 and complete SEC play with a 7-1 record. Georgia made it to the SEC Championship game a season ago by going 6-2 in conference games. But Georgia does not control its path to Atlanta, as Alabama and Texas A&M are both unbeaten in conference play.

With the chances of earning an automatic bid hindered by not potentially playing in the SEC Championship game, it makes winning on Saturday against Texas all the more critical for Georgia’s season.

Saturday’s game against the Longhorns is set for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff on ABC.

You can see the full College Football Playoff rankings below.