Tuesday marked the first night of the College Football Playoff rankings. Entering ESPN's reveal Georgia was sitting comfortably in their seats with nothing to worry about since they expected to be near the top of the rankings, and that's what happened as they came in at No. 2.
The CFP committee had Miami at No. 1, Utah at No. 3, Indiana at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 5 to round out the top five.
Georgia is in prime position to make the CFP for the third year in a row
This is only the third year of the 12-team CFP, and Georgia has never had to sweat making the playoff field yet. They are one of just three teams to make the playoff in 2024 and 2025 along with Ohio State and Indiana, but Georgia overall has been better off than both of them.
Ohio State made the playoff in 2024 with two losses, so had they lost won more game they may have been on the outside looking in. Indiana also nearly missed the playoff in 2024 as well as they earned the 10th seed. Georgia on the other hand was the No. 2 seed in 2024 and the No. 3 seed in 2025, so they've never been close to missing the playoff.
Georgia now is in perfect position to make the playoff again this season. As the No. 2 seed they can likely afford one more loss and still be guaranteed a playoff spot, and with the way things are shaking out this season they could lose two more times and have a chance to make it in.
Indiana and Ohio State are the two champions in the 12-team CFP era, so they do have that over Georgia. The Bulldogs however have a great chance to make the playoff so they could have an opportunity to be the next national champion later this season.
The first edition of the CFP rankings is hard to understand
Georgia thankfully has nothing to complain about as they got the ranking they probably deserved. Chaos ensued below them though that is challenging to comprehend.
The biggest blunder by the committee was putting a two-loss Alabama at No. 2. The Crimson Tide have good wins against Kentucky and South Carolina, but at some point their losses have to matter. They lost to Tennessee who also only has two losses this season, yet the Vols are ranked eight spots below them at No. 13. Good luck figuring that one out.
Ohio State didn't get the same treatment as Alabama even though they are a big name like the Tide. The Buckeyes have two losses as well to Texas and USC. Both of those losses occurred on the road and the committee ranked both of these teams on Tuesday. Ohio State however would be the first team out of the playoff right now.
Utah hasn't played a tough schedule but they're undefeated and are No. 3 in the country. UCLA has played an easy schedule as well and are undefeated yet they are five spots lower at No. 8.
One good thing the committee did was ranking Notre Dame No. 11. The Irish have only played one good team this season (BYU) which was a game they lost. The Irish get a chance to prove themselves against Miami this weekend, but if they lose that game they will likely miss the playoff again because they refuse to schedule tough teams.
The good news for Georgia is that they are comfortably in the playoff as long as they keep winning. They better make sure they keep winning though because who knows what the committee will do if UGA drops another game.
Every SEC team ranked in the first CFP rankings
Rank | Team |
|---|---|
2 | Georgia |
5 | Alabama |
6 | Kentucky |
7 | Texas |
10 | Ole Miss |
13 | Tennessee |
14 | LSU |
18 | Missouri |
21 | South Carolina |
24 | Florida |
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