Georgia checked in at No. 2 in the first edition of the College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday night. This was the spot they likely deserved as 8-0 Miami was the team awarded the No. 1 ranking.
The top two teams made a lot of sense in the committee's rankings, but seemingly every spot after Georgia had some controversy attached to it. So even though Georgia is safe right now at No. 2, the committee sent a clear message that anything is possible if Georgia loses another game this season.
The CFP committee is willing to do anything
Three are a few decisions the playoff committee made in their rankings that just make no sense. Alabama being at No. 5 as a two-loss team might be the worst ranking of all time, but more to come on that in a little bit.
Utah at No. 3 is valid since they are an undefeated team. They however haven't played a difficult schedule, but if the committee wants to reward them for being 8-0 then so be it. They however can't have undefeated UCLA at No. 8 then when they have a nearly identical resume to Utah.
Ohio State checking in at No. 12 and being the first team out of the playoff field is a bit strange too as a two-loss team. There are three two-loss teams ranked above them, but the Buckeyes' two losses are on the road to Texas and USC who are both ranked. It seems like they deserve more respect than that.
Georgia, as mentioned, is safe where they're at. They deserved to be No. 2 and that's the ranking they were given, and as long as they keep winning they won't drop any lower. Georgia however isn't as safe as the No. 2 team might think they are if they were to lose another game this season.
Georgia isn't safe if they lose another game
After being ranked No. 2 in the initial CFP rankings it would be easy to assume that Georgia would still be in the 12-team field if they lost another game. That however may not be the case.
Alabama is the No. 5 team in the country even with their two losses. Head-to-head matters to a lot of people, so if Georgia lost a second game this year many fans and analysts would say they should still be ranked ahead of Alabama because they beat them. The CFP committee might disagree.
Tennessee is a two-loss team who beat Alabama only a few weeks ago, yet they have the Vols ranked eight spots lower than Alabama at No. 13. So it appears that head-to-head results don't matter to the committee as much as they probably should.
All Georgia can do is keep winning. They thankfully have three more opportunities at a ranked win this season as their next three opponents (Ole Miss, Missouri and South Carolina) are all ranked, so as long as they keep winning then Georgia will have nothing to worry about. But if they lose another game then who knows what could happen.
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