ATHENS — It has become a November tradition at this point.
A Georgia player or Kirby Smart is inevitably asked about the College Football Playoff rankings, which prompts a similar response each year: the Bulldogs have too much in front of them to get caught up in what the committee decides.
“We focus on now. What can we take care of now? That’s going to take care of itself later down the road,” Allen said. “So, right now, we’re just focusing on ourself and focusing on Ole Miss. So once we cross that road we’ll take care of it then, but we just want to focus on what’s going on now, and that’ll help everything later on.”
The first CFP ranking of the season comes out shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, with ESPN broadcasting the reveal. It’s a made-for-TV event, but one that will certainly spark plenty of debate, especially in the first year of a 12-team playoff.
It’s no longer solely about getting the four best teams in the playoff.
There are more parameters, and mental gymnastics, involved.
With the 12-team layout, five spots will be guaranteed to the five highest ranking conference champions. The four highest ranked teams that win their conference will get a bye into the College Football Playoff.
While there is still plenty to be decided when it comes to conference championship races, right now Georgia is the highest-ranked SEC team in the AP Poll. Based on that metric, No. 1 Oregon, No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Miami and No. 9 BYU would earn the first-round byes.
The fifth slot is set to go to the top-ranked Group of 5 program that won their conference championship. At this point, Boise State seems like the best bet for that distinction. The Broncos are ranked No. 12, with their lone loss on the season coming against Oregon by a field goal.
With those five teams set, that would leave seven at-large openings. Those seven teams, along with Boise State, would play in the first-round games set to be played on Dec. 20 and Dec. 21, with the higher-ranked seed hosting.
Tonight we find out how the committee ranks those teams that don’t lock up their conference crowns. Using the AP Poll, the following teams would earn the corresponding seeds:
- Ohio State — No. 5
- Texas — No. 6
- Penn State — No. 7
- Tennessee — No. 8
- Indiana — No. 9
- Notre Dame — No. 10
- Alabama — No. 11
Just outside those rankings are SMU, LSU, Texas A&M and Ole Miss.
Using this hypothetical prediction, Georgia would face the winner of Penn State-Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. Ohio State would play Boise State, Texas would host Alabama and Tennessee would face off against Indiana. The SEC and Big Ten would each get four teams in, while Notre Dame is an independent. The current AP Poll would leave the ACC and Big 12 with just one school each in the field.
Georgia takes on Ole Miss this weekend. While the Bulldogs have had weak moments and shaky wins, their resume might be the strongest. They have wins over Texas and Clemson, with the lone loss coming on the road against Alabama.
A win at Ole Miss would further strengthen Georgia’s already stout resume. But Ole Miss needs a win if it is to make a College Football Playoff push, as the Rebels already have two losses.
“We try to be businesslike and intense throughout the season, and not treat one game bigger than the other because when you do that, the kids kind of read into it,” Smart said. “So for us, it’s a lot of big games. And I think the elasticity of someone’s ability to focus can be stretched, and we’re trying to stretch that mental preparation so that they can do it over and over again throughout the season no matter how many games it takes.”
The Bulldogs were the No. 1 ranked team to open last year’s rankings. But Georgia went on to lose to Alabama in the SEC championship game and miss the College Football Playoff.
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