Georgia Football: More is on the line against Mississippi State than you think

Georgia football and Mississippi State are set to do battle on Saturday afternoon. While this game may be one you want to overlook, there's plenty of reasons why Georgia and Kirby Smart can't afford to do that.

The biggest reason why this game is so important, even though it's against one of the worst SEC teams, is because of Georgia’s goals. Nobody will deny that the Bulldogs expect to get to the College Football Playoffs every season. That goal became a lot easier now that 12 teams qualify, but it isn’t a guarantee UGA ends the season in the top 12.

Georgia's loss to Alabama definitely hurt their chances to make the CFP, but not by much in the moment. Then the Tide went and lost to Vanderbilt which hurt the Bulldogs’ strength of record significantly. But there is still good news for Georgia even after these events as an ESPN analyst thinks Georgia’s the only team in football who could make it in the CFP with three losses.

But I don't want to leave it up to a committee just to make it in. I want Georgia to leave no doubt. The only way to do that is by winning out or losing one more game to one of the best teams left on their schedule. Losing to Mississippi State though is how Georgia could get left out with only two losses.

But even with a loss, UGA could still get in at 10-2. But finishing the year with only two losses would feel impossible with Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee still on the schedule.

So if Georgia wants to control their CFP destiny, today is a must win. They are the heavy favorites, but we saw last week how that doesn't matter. So a win against MSU, hopefully in dominant fashion, is crucial so all of Georgia’s goals are still in front of them.