One of the big debates from this week's release of the College Football Playoff rankings was Georgia football and Ohio State. Georgia is coming off their wild 8OT win against Georgia Tech while the Buckeyes just suffered an embarrassing defeat to a 6-win Michigan team at home.
As a result of those outcomes, Georgia moved up two spots to No. 5 while Ohio State fell four spots to No. 6.
One of the questions that CFP chariman Warde Manuel was asked was how the committee decided to rank Georgia ahead of Ohio State. And his answer was very straightforward.
“The 2 losses by Georgia were to ranked teams… Both on the road.”
Warde Manuel asked about Georgia being ranked over Ohio State
— Graham Coffey (@GrahamCoffeyDC) December 4, 2024
“The 2 losses by Georgia were to ranked teams… Both on the road.”
Georgia's wins are also better than Ohio States
Manuel said what should be obvious to everyone, being that Georgia's losses aren't as bad as Ohio States. To be fair, the Buckeys loss at No. 1 Oregon is not holding them back, but their loss this weekend at home to a 6-win Michigan team is hideous. Georgia on the other hand does not have a bad loss as they both came on the road against top 15 teams in Alabama and Ole Miss.
On top of the better losses, Georgia also has better wins than Ohio State as well. The Bulldogs have a road win over No. 2 Texas along with two more wins over Tennessee and Clemson who are both either in the 12-team CFP or still in contention to make the field. Ohio State's best wins on the other hand are to Penn State and Indiana, two teams that most people are not believers in.
So while it may seem like Ohio State has a case to be ranked over Kirby Smart and Georgia, it really isn't all that close after comparing their resumes. So thankfully the CFP committee was able to see this as well and finally make a good decision in their rankings this year.