With last season over with and done, we can only focus our attention to what all lies ahead in the wonderful world of college football. Over the last two years, the Georgia Bulldogs are one of only four teams to make both 12-team playoffs. While they are the only SEC team to do so, they have yet to win a national quarterfinal after getting a first-round bye. Will they make it back? How far will they go now?
Based on Bill Connelly's twisted logic for ESPN, here is what he feels may be the playoff field in 2026.
- Indiana Hoosiers (Projected Big Ten champion)
- Georgia Bulldogs (Projected SEC champion)
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (Projected Big 12 champion)
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Projected national independent runner-up)
- USC Trojans (Projected Big Ten runner-up)
- Texas A&M Aggies (Projected SEC runner-up)
- Ohio State Buckeyes (Projected Big Ten at-large)
- Miami Hurricanes (Projected ACC champion)
- Oregon Ducks (Projected Big Ten at-large)
- Texas Longhorns (Projected SEC at-large)
- Oklahoma State Cowboys (Projected Big 12 runner-up)
- Hawaii Rainbow Warriors (Projected Mountain West/Group of Five champion)
Connelly explained his logic with concepts such as the best team not named Ohio State wins the Big Ten, and that the SEC is won by either Kirby Smart, or a team led by a head coach who has beaten Kirby Smart before. In the Big 12, follow the money, or flip the script?! In the ACC, it is all about either being Clemson or beating Clemson. From the Group of Five, you must play a strong non-conference.
To round out the seven other spots, Connelly then took six teams he liked in the from his ESPN colleague Mark Schlabach's way-too-early top 25 rankings (Notre Dame, USC, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Oregon, and Texas), as well as one team that was below .500 the previous year (Oklahoma State, if you can believe that!) This may be a more accurate reflection of what the playoff field could look like.
With Georgia winning the SEC, how far does Connelly have the Bulldogs going in this playoff bracket?
How far does Bill Connelly have Georgia going in next season's playoff?
Connelly has No. 9 Oregon getting past No. 8 Miami in the first round, as well as No. 5 USC over No. 12 Hawaii, No. 6 Texas A&M over No. 11 Oklahoma State, and No. 10 Texas over No. 7 Ohio State. From there he has Oregon getting revenge over top-seeded Indiana, Notre Dame beating USC, Texas Tech prevailing over Texas A&M, and Georgia continuing to assert its dominance over Texas yet again.
With Oregon winning the Orange Bowl, Georgia winning the Peach Bowl, Texas Tech winning the Cotton Bowl, and Notre Dame winning the Fiesta Bowl, that leaves us with the Rose and Sugar Bowls left to be played, based on the three-year bowl game rotation. Notre Dame and Oregon will play in the Rose Bowl, while Georgia gets Texas Tech in the Sugar Bowl. Notre Dame and Georgia will advance.
So Georgia will face Notre Dame for all the marbles in Las Vegas in the national championship. Connelly picked Notre Dame over Georgia because "The Irish appear laded on paper, and whoever beats Oregon in the CFP has to win the whole thing. It's the rule at this point." That may be a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it would be such a shame if Georgia were to lose to Notre Dame once again...
Overall, Connelly's logic seems to actually put forth quite a compelling playoff field. It may end up being more in line with the type of field we will get in the end. Although there are reasons to be dubious about Notre Dame winning a national championship this century, at least Connelly is not buying into the Texas hype train once again. If only Georgia got to face Oregon in the playoff here...
For now, Georgia remains the team to beat in the SEC when it comes to coming out of Atlanta again.