Admittedly, there was not much movement in the latest College Football Playoff rankings. The Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 4 overall for the second week in a row. The top five teams stayed the same, while there was some movement inside of the top 10. Regardless, Georgia is in a great position to get a first-round bye, assuming it takes care of business in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.
Now that we have seen four weeks of playoff rankings, it has become abundantly clear that the College Football Playoff Selection Committee views Georgia just as favorably as advanced analytics do. Based solely on ESPN's Football Power Index playoff percentages, Georgia was ranked fourth. During last week's playoff rankings, Georgia appeared to be a grim reaper. What are the Dawgs now?
They might be the team that knocks! Here is the latest College Football Playoff rankings for Week 14.
- Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0)
- Indiana Hoosiers (11-0)
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-0)
- Georgia Bulldogs (10-1)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1)
- Oregon Ducks (10-1)
- Ole Miss Rebels (10-1)
- Oklahoma Sooners (9-2)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2)
- Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2)
- BYU Cougars (10-1)
- Miami Hurricanes (9-2)
- Utah Utes (9-2)
- Vanderbilt Commodores (9-2)
- Michigan Wolverines (9-2)
- Texas Longhorns (8-3)
- USC Trojans (8-3)
- Virginia Cavaliers (9-2)
- Tennessee Volunteers (8-3)
- Arizona State Sun Devils (8-3)
- SMU Mustangs (8-3)
- Pittsburgh Panthers (8-3)
- Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-2)
- Tulane Green Wave (9-2)
- Arizona Wildcats (8-3)
Now that we know who the top 25 teams are this week, let's see what the projected playoff bracket is.
Projected College Football Playoff bracket after fourth series of rankings
Based on the criteria of the College Football Playoff, these would be the 12 teams making the field.
- Ohio State Buckeyes (11-0): Projected Big Ten champion
- Indiana Hoosiers (11-0): Projected Big Ten runner-up
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-0): Projected SEC champion
- Georgia Bulldogs (10-1): Projected SEC runner-up
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (10-1): Projected Big 12 champion
- Oregon Ducks (10-1): Projected Big Ten at-large
- Ole Miss Rebels (10-1): Projected SEC at-large
- Oklahoma Sooners (9-2): Projected SEC at-large
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-2): Projected national independent at-large
- Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2): Projected SEC at-large
- Miami Hurricanes (9-2): Projected ACC champion
- Tulane Green Wave (9-2): Projected AAC/Group of Five champion
For a little bit more context, these would be the first four teams out heading into rivalry weekend.
- 13. BYU Cougars (10-1): Projected Big 12 runner-up
- 14. Utah Utes (9-2): Big 12
- 15. Vanderbilt Commodores (9-2): SEC
- 16. Michigan Wolverines (9-2): Big Ten
For the second week in a row, Georgia was ranked fourth and given the No. 4 seed. This would mean they would be one of four teams to get first-round byes. The only other teams to get first-round byes at this stage of the game are the three remaining undefeated teams in No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Indiana and No. 3 Texas A&M. Ohio State and Indiana will likely play each other in the Big Ten Championship.
Now that we know who makes the playoff in this bracket, what about the first-round games and byes?
Projected College Football Playoff first-round matchups and byes
Here are the four teams getting a bye, as well as the four first-round matchups of massive intrigue.
- No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (BYE)
- No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers (BYE)
- No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies (BYE)
- No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs (BYE)
- No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs. No. 12 Tulane Green Wave
- No. 6 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 11 Miami Hurricanes
- No. 7 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide
- No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish
As stated above, Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Georgia get first-round byes into the national quarterfinals. Big 12 champion Texas Tech will host AAC/Group of Five champion Tulane in the No. 5 vs. No. 12 game. Oregon gets ACC champion Miami in the No. 6 vs. No. 11 game. Ole Miss welcomes Alabama to Oxford in the No. 7 vs. No. 10. Oklahoma draws Notre Dame in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 game.
Texas Tech has very little issues with a just-happy-to-be-here Tulane team. Oregon gets all it can handle in the Mario Cristobal Bowl. Carson Beck wipes the smile off Dan Lanning's face in an upset victory. With Lane Kiffin's status with the team in limbo, Alabama makes sure he is not coming back by beating Ole Miss at their place. Notre Dame runs out of gas vs. the vaunted Oklahoma defense.
With Texas Tech, Miami, Alabama and Oklahoma all advancing, let's see who they all will play next.
Projected College Football Playoff bracket national quarterfinals
These would be the four national quarterfinals matchups in this latest playoff bracket simulation.
- Rose Bowl: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners
- Orange Bowl: No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 10 Alabama Crimson Tide
- Cotton Bowl: No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 11 Miami Hurricanes
- Sugar Bowl: No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs vs. No. 5 Texas Tech Red Raiders
Big Ten champion Ohio State would take the Rose Bowl, where the Buckeyes would draw Oklahoma. Indiana would select the Orange Bowl as the No. 2, taking on Alabama in Greater Miami. SEC champion Texas A&M would take the Cotton Bowl, but may have to play in the Sugar Bowl. Either way, they play Miami. Georgia would play Texas Tech in either the Sugar or Cotton Bowl in its quarterfinal.
Oklahoma is not strong enough offensively to keep pace with Ohio State's high-octane unit. Alabama will challenge Indiana, but a lack of a ground game will be the difference in Miami. Texas A&M wins the battle of teams who beat Notre Dame way back in September bowl. Georgia beats Texas Tech in the end with the good, old-fashioned Anaconda Plan of ground-and-pound offense and defense late.
With Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Georgia all advancing, let's see the semifinal matchups!
Projected College Football Playoff bracket national semifinals
With only four teams left, let's see who will be facing who in the national semifinals this postseason.
- Peach Bowl: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes vs. No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs
- Fiesta Bowl: No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 3 Texas A&M Aggies
Ohio State will draw Georgia either way. While they may actually want the Fiesta Bowl to make Georgia travel, both teams are in the Eastern Time Zone, so welcome to Atlanta where the players play, Buckeyes! Indiana will take on Texas A&M in the Fiesta Bowl just outside of Phoenix. While there are ways all four teams could conceivably advance to the national championship, only two of them will.
Georgia has faced real adversity this season, whereas Ohio State is still greatly unproven in that department. With this game being in the Dawgs' backyard of Atlanta, it will likely go in their favor. Ohio State could win, but let's take Georgia! As far as how the Fiesta Bowl may go, Indiana has the better head coach and quarterback combo over the Aggies. Fernando Mendoza and Curt Cignetti advance.
So it will be the Tom Crean bowl down in South Beach with Georgia taking on Indiana for all the glory...
Projected College Football Playoff bracket national championship
It will be a ton of red in this national title bout matchup between No. 2 Indiana and No. 4 Georgia.
- College Football Playoff National Championship Game: No. 2 Indiana Hoosiers vs. No. 4 Georgia Bulldogs
To be quite frank, not until we see Indiana beat Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship, or at least make it something around a one-score game, there will be doubt about the Hoosiers' ability to run the gauntlet that is the College Football Playoff, even as a top-four seed. Georgia is one of the few teams in the country who is both battle-tested and proven in these major spots. It is why they will likely win.
In the end, Georgia will still have to beat teams like Texas Tech, Ohio State and Indiana to be crowned College Football Playoff national champions for the third time in five years. It may not be those three teams in that order, but you get the idea. Georgia could potentially win its latest national championship without playing in the SEC Championship, or even face an SEC team in the playoff now.
While you let that sink in, is it not so nice to not have to worry about Alabama as much as we did?