Georgia football is in the midst of their worst season in the last five years. Now that is saying something considering Georgia is still 7-2 (5-2), but after their loss to Ole Miss this past weekend it feels like the program has hit rock bottom.
However, even though Georgia is having a bad season for their standards, the nice thing is that Georgia still has everything to play for in front of them. The Bulldogs theoretically still have a chance to make it into the SEC championship game, even if it is a long shot. But Georgia also still has a chance to make it into the College Football Playoffs, which is the ultimate goal of every season.
Expanded CFP field gives Georgia hope
The College Football Playoffs have been around since the 2014 season. And up until this point, they only included the top four teams in the country. If those rules were still the same today, Georgia would already be on the outside looking in and not stand a chance to make the CFP this season.
But that all changes this season now that the CFP has expanded to include the top 12 teams in the country. That means Georgia, who already has two losses, can still turn their season around and win a national championship. That may feel impossible after seeing how poorly Georgia has been playing, but anything is still possible.
Take Alabama for example. After the Tide beat Georgia they spiraled and lost two of their next three games to Vanderbilt and Tennessee. In years past, Alabama wouldn't have stood a chance to make it into the CFP this season either, but the expanded field still gave them a chance.
Fast forward to today and Alabama has rattled off two dominant wins, including a 42-13 win at LSU on Saturday. Now Alabama has quickly started to look like one of the best teams in the country again. The Tide have three fairly easy games remaining, so if they win those three they will be in the 12-team field and will probably be one of the favorites to win it all.
So why can't that happen to Georgia too?
Kirby Smart and Georgia have three games remaining on their schedule, and if they win all three they will make the 12-team CFP field. Three games is also plenty of time to turn their season around and start playing national championship caliber football again, just like Alabama did.
So thank you to the College Football Playoff committee, because if they hadn't expanded the field then Georgia's season would already be over.