Dawn of the Dawg
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Georgia football stays No.1 while others fall to the chaos

By Savannah Leigh

ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 26: Kendall Milton #2 of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts after scoring a touchdown in the second half against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Sanford Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GA - NOVEMBER 26: Kendall Milton #2 of the Georgia Bulldogs reacts after scoring a touchdown in the second half against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Sanford Stadium on November 26, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) /
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Georgia football remains No.1 on the AP Top 25 poll after the chaotic rivalry week took out a few teams that were eying for a playoff run. While one or two of them may find a way back into the top four, it will take even more chaos, but one thing is sure, the Dawgs did their job once again and finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record.

The Dawgs didn’t need to blow out Georgia Tech, and while the game was more challenging than anyone thought it would be, they still won by 23 points. At the same time, it was rivalry week, so anything could happen — how you finish is what matters.

Most of the teams that were supposed to win did just that, but there were a few casualties throughout the day. Georgia was thankfully not one of them, and it got to watch these other programs fall after getting done with their game early in the afternoon.

Georgia football got out of rivalry week without issues, but not everyone can say that.

Ohio State, Clemson and LSU all lost to their rivals this week, opening the playoff route wide open — it was glorious to watch. Florida even fell to Florida State, so it was an excellent weekend to be a Dawg fan.

Michigan took the Buckeyes to the woodshed in front of Ohio State’s home crowd, and since then, it has caused turmoil. Buckeye fans are ready to fire head coach Ryan Day, which seems odd, but you got to love rivalry week and what it does to the fans. That win for Michigan was the first time the Wolverines won at “The Shoe” since 2000, so it stung for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State moved to 11-1 on the season, and its playoff hope isn’t completely gone, but there will have to be some chaos to get the Buckeyes back into the top four. Michigan controls its destiny but must extinguish Purdue next week in the Big 10 Championship Game.

South Carolina broke its streak in two ways against Clemson beating the Tigers 31-30 for the first time in seven years. The seven-year drought is over, but so is Clemson’s home game win streak, which ended at 40 games. This loss gives the Tigers two on the season, so they are presumable out of the playoff hunt.

LSU got beat by an unranked Texas A&M team who isn’t even eligible to play for a bowl game, and that was just a disaster for the Bayou Bengals. They had hoped to become the first two-loss team in the playoffs, but after this ugly loss, there will be no way the committee would put them in over someone else with a better resume.

Here is the entire AP Top 25 after the rivalry week chaos:

  1. Georgia (12-0)
  2. Michigan (12-0)
  3. TCU (12-0)
  4. USC (11-1)
  5. Ohio State (11-1)
  6. Alabama (10-2)
  7. Tennessee (10-2)
  8. Penn State (10-2)
  9. Washington (10-2)
  10. Clemson (10-2)
  11. LSU (9-3)
  12. Utah (9-3)
  13. Kansas State (9-3)
  14. Florida State (9-3)
  15. Oregon (9-3)
  16. Oregon State (9-3)
  17. UCLA (9-3)
  18. Tulane (10-2)
  19. Notre Dame (8-4)
  20. South Carolina (8-4)
  21. Texas (8-4)
  22. UCF (9-3)
  23. UTSA (10-2)
  24. North Carolina (9-3)

Georgia continues to control its destiny and is the clear No.1 team despite Michigan getting five of those first-place votes. It’s not silly that they did because what they did to Ohio State was impressive.

TCU was another that impressed this week as they demoralized Iowa State 62-14. A few people didn’t think they would win this week, but those people were wrong. TCU controls its playoff hopes, and all it has to do is win next week in the Big 12 Championship Game.

Must Read. Georgia football is the scariest team in college football right now. light

Georgia enjoyed another week without too much drama, and it’s good to see because it only gets more complicated from here. The Dawgs will need to beat LSU next week in the SEC Championship to hold onto that No.1 ranking, and it seems they will. Tuesday’s College Football Playoff rankings should feature a similar ranking, as there is just one more week until the world knows who the final four will be.

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