On Tuesday the College Football Playoff committee revealed that Georgia is their No. 2 team in the country in their initial playoff ranking. This normally would mean that Georgia is safe inside the top 12 even if they lose another game, but that may not be the case.
The committee made some controversial decisions throughout their entire rankings, but the most egregious decision was putting two-loss Alabama at No. 5. Some might think this is good news for Georgia because they beat Tide. It'd be easy to assume that their head-to-head victory over Alabama would be enough to keep them above the Tide in the rankings even if they lost another game, but the committee made it clear that isn't the case.
Tennessee got no love from the CFP committee, and Georgia could be next
Tennessee is the other team to beat Alabama this season. Head-to-head results should matter in rankings, but that is only the case when teams have similar resumes. Alabama and Tennessee do have similar resumes as they are both two-loss teams, but somehow the Vols are ranked eight spots lower than Alabama at No. 13.
If the playoff were to begin today then Tennessee wouldn't even be in the field even though they have the same record and a win over 5-seed Alabama. Good luck figuring out how that makes any sense.
The committee could ultimately do the same thing to Georgia if they were to lose another game, and unfortunately for Georgia life is about to get extremely difficult.
Georgia may not have any room for error
Georgia's next three games are all against ranked opponents. This week they play at Ole Miss which is the most difficult game left on their schedule, but after that they get Missouri at home and South Carolina on the road.
Typcially the team ranked No. 2 in the country has some breathing room because one loss usually wouldn't be enough to drop a team 10 spots and out of the playoff field. That may not be the case this year. If the committee is willing to put Tennessee eight spots below Alabama even though they have the same record then who knows what they would do to Georgia if they got a second loss too.
The good news for Georgia is that their second loss would come against a team who is currently ranked. That would make this theoretical loss not look as bad, but if the committee's rankings are this confusing they'd be better off not losing again this season.
While the No. 2 team in the country with one loss historically is safe inside the playoff field even if they dropped another game, that may not be the case this year. Alabama being at No. 5 isn't Georgia's safety net like they appear to be because the committee has already shown they're willing to ignore head-to-head results. So the only way Georgia can guarantee their spot in the playoff is by winning the rest of their games, and that is a bit concerning considering the difficulty of their schedule.
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