Georgia football received the No. 3 seed in the final College Football Playoff rankings on Sunday. While that is a good place to be, many Georgia fans were left wondering how they were ranked behind Ohio State who just lost in the Big Ten Championship game.
CFP committee chair Hunter Yurachek was asked about their decision to rank OSU above Georgia after the final bracket was released, and his rationale made no sense.
“Then when you look at comparatively Georgia to Ohio State, their schedule strengths are relatively similar as are their record strengths, but statistically, especially on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, Ohio State looks a little bit better on the statistical side. So that's why the committee chose to give the nod to Ohio State over Georgia in that 2-3 setting.”
CFP committee gives a laughable reason for ranking Ohio State above Georgia
How is the committee chair able to say Ohio State had a similar schedule to Georgia? The Buckeyes had just one good win this season which just so happened to come against an SEC team in Texas. Georgia on the other hand also has a win against the Longhorns along with two teams who made the playoff in Ole Miss and Alabama. The Buckeyes on the other hand do not have a win against a team who made the playoff.
Speaking of Texas, their matchups with the Longhorns is the best way to compare Georgia and Ohio State. Both teams played Texas at home, and Ohio State won by seven points while Georgia won by 25.
Then there was this weekend when Georgia won the SEC Championship game against Alabama by 21 points while Ohio State lost to Indiana by three. So is the committee really saying losing by three is better than winning by 21?
Georgia might get their chance to prove the committee wrong in the semifinals if both OSU and UGA make it there, but regardless of what happens this explanation for why the Buckeyes were ranked higher doesn’t make any sense.