Georgia fans didn't get much of a surprise when the College Football Playoff selection committee revealed its first rankings Tuesday night. The Bulldogs landed at No. 2, trailing only undefeated Miami and sitting comfortably among the nation's elite.
It was a well-deserved recognition of what Kirby Smart's team has accomplished through the first nine weeks of the season, and another reminder that Georgia remains one of the programs everyone else will have to contend with when the postseason arrives.
But for Georgia fans, this is some food for thought. Georgia might be the one team in college football that has the least reason to care about what the committee thinks right now.
Not because the rankings don't matter, but because the Bulldogs have something more valuable than a favorable ranking in the first CFP reveal. They have an opportunity to make whatever the committee decided Tuesday night practically irrelevant by the time Selection Sunday arrives.
Georgia's remaining schedule is both its greatest challenge and its biggest advantage, and the Bulldogs won't need to rely on anyone else's opinion if they take care of business over the next four weeks.
Georgia still has plenty of opportunities to impress the CFP committee
At 7-1, Georgia has already assembled a resumé that made it difficult for the selection committee to justify putting the Bulldogs anywhere outside the top four. The No. 2 ranking confirmed that the committee recognizes what Georgia has accomplished.
The win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa carries considerable weight, and the convincing 27-8 beatdown of Florida helped erase some of the doubts created by that ugly home loss to Auburn. Georgia also owns victories over Oklahoma and Vanderbilt, giving the Bulldogs a solid foundation heading into November.
And yet, the most impressive part of Georgia's potential playoff bio might still be ahead in Oxford, Athens, and Columbia.
The Bulldogs travel to Oxford this weekend to face No. 10 Ole Miss before returning home for a matchup with No. 18 Missouri. A trip to No. 21 South Carolina follows, and Georgia closes the regular season against Georgia Tech in Athens.
That's a stretch of three teams ranked in the CFP Top 25, and a season finale during rivalry week. For a team already sitting near the top of the national rankings, it's a huge opportunity to strengthen its case without needing help from anyone else.
While other playoff contenders will spend the next month hoping their best victories age well or that somebody ahead of them stumbles, Georgia has the luxury of adding quality wins to its résumé almost every Saturday.
Of course, there's a catch. The Bulldogs actually have to win those games.
The same schedule that could bury Georgia can also make it untouchable
Georgia's schedule is either a path to the postseason, or a cliff from which they plummet.
Ole Miss is more than capable of making life miserable for the Bulldogs in Oxford, and Missouri and South Carolina won't be interested in helping Georgia improve its playoff standing. Even Georgia Tech, regardless of its record, would love nothing more than to spoil the Bulldogs' season.
The loss to Auburn should have already reminded Georgia that nothing is guaranteed, especially in a conference where seemingly every team is capable of ruining somebody else's Saturday.
Georgia doesn't have to wonder whether its schedule will provide enough opportunities to impress the committee. It doesn't have to manufacture a strength-of-schedule argument or hope that a September victory suddenly becomes more valuable in November.
The opportunities are sitting right there.
Win in Oxford, beat Missouri, handle business in Columbia, and finish the regular season by taking care of Georgia Tech, and Georgia will have built a resumé that should leave very little room for debate.
There's also the possibility of an SEC Championship Game appearance, which would give the Bulldogs another opportunity to demonstrate they belong among the nation's best. That's an enviable (or precarious) position, even if the road to getting there is anything but comfortable.
Georgia's best playoff argument won't come from a television studio
There was plenty to debate when the rankings were announced Tuesday night. Notre Dame landed considerably lower than expected; several undefeated teams found themselves looking up at programs with losses, and fans across the country had no shortage of reasons to question the committee's decisions.
Georgia fans, however, had little reason to complain.
The Bulldogs received the respect their body of work deserved, and the No. 2 ranking confirmed that the committee views Georgia as one of the nation's leading championship contenders.
While other contenders will spend November trying to protect their playoff positions or hoping for help elsewhere, Georgia can continue building a case that gets stronger with every victory.
The first CFP rankings told us what the committee thinks of Georgia today. The next four Saturdays will allow the Bulldogs to show everyone what they deserve in December. And if Georgia takes advantage of those opportunities, the committee's initial decision to put the Bulldogs at No. 2 will look less like a judgment call and more like a statement of the obvious.
The best way for Georgia to avoid being at the mercy of the selection committee is to leave it with nothing to debate.
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