As more and more Georgia Bulldogs fans have grown comfortable with where their beloved team is currently ranked after the initial College Football Playoff rankings, they just might be able to improve their seed from that of No. 5. Georgia being No. 5 means they would get a cake walk of a first-round home game vs. whoever wins the Group of Five. After that, it may mean Alabama in the quarterfinals.
So with Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama all being ranked ahead of Georgia, who is most likely to slip up here soon? What team could be exposed as a fraud? Well, Alabama looks legit... The Crimson Tide still have to play Oklahoma, but that team feels like a lock to make the playoff. Indiana is not losing a game before Indianapolis. Ohio State has Michigan left, but that is it. What about A&M?
Yeah, what about Texas A&M? That right there might be the one to watch for Georgia. The Aggies may be 8-0 overall and 5-0 in SEC play, but their strength of record is not super impressive. Yes, they have the head-to-head win over Notre Dame, but that was by a point on the road weeks ago. So far in SEC play, the Aggies have played Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida, Arkansas and LSU. None are ranked...
With road dates at Missouri and Texas, the Aggies need to make sure they do not slip up this season...
Texas A&M could potentially stumble to allow Georgia to get to Atlanta
When looking at the SEC tiebreakers, there is a very strong possibility that Georgia takes the Aggies' spot in Atlanta should they finish with identical 11-1 (7-1) records. Since they do not play each other this season, it will come down to common opponents. Georgia and Texas A&M only share four SEC opponents this year: Auburn, Florida, Mississippi State and Texas. It might all come down to Texas...
Assuming Georgia wins out with wins over Mississippi State, Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech, the Dawgs will finish the year at 11-1 (7-1) and could be in line to make it to Atlanta. If the Aggies were to get to 11-0 before falling to rival Texas, guess who would be getting to Atlanta over them? UGA!, UGA! Over the years, it has been a bold proposition to trust Texas A&M. This year may be different, though.
Georgia can only control what it can control. The Dawgs need to win their final four games to have any shot of getting a top-four seed, regardless of if they make it to Atlanta or not. While they do have two potential resume boosters on the schedule in Texas and Georgia Tech, another defeat arguably knocks them out of the playoff picture. Georgia Tech for sure, but maybe Texas still has a shot at 9-3?
And this would be wild... What if Texas loses to Georgia in Athens, but gets the best of Texas A&M to hand the Aggies their only loss of the season? That would get Georgia to Atlanta, where they would presumably face Alabama. If Georgia avenges its early-season loss to Alabama, the Bulldogs will absolutely be the No. 2 seed. If Texas A&M gets to Atlanta and loses, Georgia might be the No. 4...
Overall, Texas A&M is easily the team to watch potentially slip up the rest of the way to Georgia's beneift. A&M has road games at Missouri and at Texas before a potential clash with someone like Alabama in Atlanta. If the Aggies win all three and enter the playoff at 13-0 (8-0), then good for them. They will have earned it. Right now, Texas A&M is very much the Oregon of the SEC entering Week 11.
Not to say Texas A&M is as much on fraud watch as Oregon, but it may not be as good as advertised.