Heading into this weekend's games, Georgia football was inside the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket. But holding the 11-seed is not a comfortable spot to be in.
The Bulldogs handled their business against UMass 59-21, but that large of a win won't move the needle from the committee's perspective too much considering how bad of a team UMass is this year. So after UGA's win, they were likely still sitting on the edge of the 12-team bracket, but still barely inside.
However, Georgia did receive some help from several other teams ranked higher than them in the form of bad losses.
Ironic that Florida and Auburn are the reasons Georgia has clinched the SEC championship game spot. 😂
— Michael Collins (@MCFanSided) November 24, 2024
Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas A&M, and Indiana
The first big result in Georgia's favor on Saturday was No. 9 Ole Miss losing on the road to unranked Florida. The Rebels were just one spot ahead of Georgia in this week's rankings, but the committee made it clear that it was impossible for Georgia to pass Ole Miss because of the Rebels' head-to-head win. That is until Ole Miss lost this game.
This now gives Ole Miss their third loss of the season, which likely eliminates their chances of makong the playoffs this season. But even if they somehow end up squeaking in, they will always be behing Georgia now.
Following that same idea there is Alabama, who got blown out by Oklahoma 24-3 on Saturday. Similarly to Ole Miss, this all but ends their chances of making the playoffs as well. But more importantly, Alabama’s loss as well as Texas A&Ms loss to Auburn clinches Georgia’s spot in the SEC Championship game.
So much had to go right for Georgia to make it to Atlanta, and it all did. Ole Miss, Alabama and Texas A&M were all two loss teams who lost to teams at or below .500. That is almost unheard of, but that sequence of events not only sends Georgia to Atlanta, but will help the Bulldogs skyrocket up the CFP rankings.
The last game that went Georgia's way today was No. 5 Indiana's 38-15 loss to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are the No. 2 team in the country, so one team was going to lose in front of Georgia either way. But if Ohio State was the team that lost there was a chance that they would have stayed above Georgia in the updated rankings.
Indiana on the other hand should not stay above Georgia after this result. This is Indiana's first loss of the season, but all 10 of their wins to this point have come against very bad competition. So the Hoosiers do not have one quality win this season. If Indiana would have had a close loss on the road to Ohio State, then the Hoosiers would have probably stayed above Georgia. But getting blown out against the only good team they have played this season should drop them significantly.
Kirby Smart and Georgia will have to wait until Tuesday night to find out if they move past these teams in the rankings or not. But after the release of the rankings on Tuesday, UGA likely will feel much better about their positioning in the 12-team CFP bracket.