As would have been the case had they just beaten Alabama at home, the Georgia Bulldogs holding serve Between the Hedges vs. the Ole Miss Rebels has worked out doubly good in their favor. Not only does this huge conference win over a top-five team further solidify Georgia's early College Football Playoff case, but it makes things that much harder for the Rebels to get in moving forward.
Entering Saturday's slate of games, ESPN's Football Power Index had Georgia with the fifth-best odds to make the playoff at 71.9 percent. The Dawgs got a big break with previously undefeated Miami suffering its first loss of the season to fall to 6-1 on the year Friday night. Miami's playoff chances are now only 48.6 percent. Ole Miss' playoff chances were a strong 60.3 percent coming into this week.
So with Miami losing on Friday night, Texas Tech losing in the same window as Georgia, and the Dawgs getting the best of Ole Miss, one would think their playoff chances could be upwards of 80 percent heading into their second bye ahead of The Cocktail Party. Georgia was an undisputed top-10 team in the country. The Dawgs will probably enter the bye ranked in and around the top seven.
Ole Miss can still make the playoff, but the Rebels' road to the 12-team field is so much harder now.
The Georgia Bulldogs need to do this to make the College Football Playoff
At 6-1 on the season, 4-1 in the SEC play, and having two resume-boosting wins under their belt over Tennessee and Ole Miss, all Georgia needs to do is finish with a 10-2 record to likely get in. Its three remaining SEC games are vs. Florida in Jacksonville in two weeks, at Mississippi State in three, and then at home vs. Texas. Its two non-conference games are vs. Charlotte and Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
On paper, Georgia's two toughest remaining games are vs. Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium during Thanksgiving Weekend and home vs. the Texas Longhorns in about a month. Should Georgia improve to 10-1 with four more wins before Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, the Dawgs will be a lock to make the playoff, almost regardless of what could happen over in Atlanta vs. their hated in-state rival.
As for Ole Miss, the Rebels could get in with a 10-2 record, but keep in mind that Georgia owns the head-to-head tiebreaker. Furthermore, their only win over a ranked team right now came vs. LSU at home. The Bayou Bengals just suffered their second loss of the season at Vanderbilt in the early window. Ole Miss might need to beat Oklahoma to get another ranked win, but they might lose now.
Either way, Georgia is on the verge of making the playoff, while Ole Miss is going to need some help.