Countless things are on the line this weekend when Georgia travels to Oxford to take on Ole Miss. This is a top 10 matchup that has huge implications on the race to make it to the SEC Championship game, but Georgia will be looking for some revenge after Ole Miss knocked them out of the playoff last year.
The good news for Georgia is that a victory this weekend could effectively end the Rebels hopes of making it to the playoff this year.
Ole Miss' CFP hopes would be on life support with a Georgia win
Many of the top teams in the country already have two losses this season, and that includes Ole Miss. With four weeks left in the regular season there's a chance that a couple three loss teams could make the playoff for the first time this year, so Ole Miss' playoff hopes won't be lost if they lose to Georgia. They however would need some serious outside help to get in.
Ole Miss does have a couple good wins this season against Missouri and LSU, but they still are the third-highest ranked two-loss team in the first edition of the playoff rankings that came out this week. Texas and Alabama are the two teams above them who have two losses, so if they suffer a third loss too then they'd likely still be ranked above Ole Miss.
A third loss for Ole Miss would open the door for around seven two-loss teams to move above them, and if just a few win out and finish the season 10-2 then Ole Miss likely wouldn't pass them in the final rankings.
While Ole Miss wouldn't have no chance to make the playoff if they lose their chances of getting in the 12-team field would be slim, so Georgia could put their playoff hopes on life support just one year after Ole Miss knocked them out of the playoff if they win on Saturday.
Georgia could cement their place in the playoff with a win over Ole Miss
Not only could Georgia potentially knock Ole Miss out of the playoff discussion with a win, they could come close to locking their spot in the playoff field too. A 10-2 record will be good enough for Georgia to make it in the playoff this year, and if they beat Ole Miss they would only need to finish the regular season 2-1 to get there. When looking at their final three games it seems extremely likely they'd go 2-1 at worst.
Georgia's season finale is at home against a Georgia Tech team who is 2-6 and in last place in the ACC. No game is ever a guaranteed victory, but that is about as close to an automatic win as Georgia will ever have against a Power Four opponent. Assuming that's a win then Georgia needs to win one game between Missouri and South Carolina to clinch their spot in the playoff.
Both Missouri and South Carolina are ranked, but they have shown some weaknesses throughout the year too. Georgia does get Missouri at home which will give them an even better chance to win that game, but they'll have a good shot to win at South Carolina too. All they would need to do is go 1-1 to get in the playoff, and it seems unlikely they'd lose both of these games.
Georgia can't worry about these three games right now though because the only thing that matters is Ole Miss. Right now their focus has to be on getting some revenge against the Rebels, and if they do that then their season outlook will look much better both from the standpoint of making it to the SEC Championship game and to the College Football Playoff.
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