Georgia football plays Alabama tomorrow in the SEC Championship Game, but they may have to play the Tide again in the playoffs
Tomorrow night, the SEC Championship is on the line. Georgia football meets Alabama in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the second time this calendar year. The Dawgs look to avenge the loss in the National Championship Game while they defend their SEC Championship.
But win or lose, Georgia might not be done with the Crimson Tide. Alabama is undefeated as of right now, but more impressive than that, they haven’t played one close game. The closest the Tide came to defeat was a 45-23 win over Texas A&M. Their next closest game was by 24 points. Yes, the 24-0 win over Mississippi State is their second closest game of the season. After those games are the 29-0 win over LSU and 39-10 win over Missouri. They’ve won every other game by at least 30 points.
If Georgia beats the Tide in Atlanta tomorrow, that means the Tide’s only loss in a sea of dominant wins, was to a no. 4 ranked team on a neutral field. Simply put, Alabama’s resume is too good to leave out of the playoffs, regardless of what happens in the Big 10 and Big 12 Championship Games. They may have the same record as Ohio State and Oklahoma after tomorrow, and those teams might have Conference titles, but Alabama’s 12-game resume will still be better.
Ohio State got embarrassed by Purdue, and Oklahoma lost to a three-loss Texas team.And both had numerous close calls all year. Alabama hasn’t had one close call. The only scenario where I see Alabama missing the playoffs with a loss to Georgia, is one where Oklahoma blows out Texas by at least four scores. Ohio State is effectively out. Oklahoma is still on the cusp, but they need to win in impressive fashion.
But what if the Dawgs lose and fall to 11-2, how can they still get into the playoffs. Lets reverse the expected decisions in the Big 12 and Big 10 championship games. If Georgia, Oklahoma and Ohio State all lose tomorrow, who has the best resume? Georgia, whose only two losses came to top-10 teams? Oklahoma, who has two losses to Texas on neutral fields? or Ohio State, who would have two losses to teams with a combined 10 losses? I rest my case.
And you can’t completely dismiss those possibilities. Texas has already beaten Oklahoma once, and Ohio State lost to a 6-6 Purdue team.
The possibility of another Georgia-Alabama rematch is real and very likely. If the Dawgs win the SEC Championship, they’ll move up to no. 3 to play Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, while Alabama will once again play Clemson. If Georgia losses, and gets help, they have to turn around and play the Tide again in the Cotton Bowl.