Just three years ago Georgia was on top of the college football world. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs capped off their second consecutive National Championship after destroying TCU 65-7. Georgia then finished the 2023 regular season with a perfect 12-0 record before falling to Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
Georgia felt they still deserved a shot in the College Football Playoff that season, but UGA fell all the way to No. 6 and missed the playoff. While Georgia was extremely upset, they were motivated to move on and gear up for the 2024 season that featured a 12-team playoff for the first time.
The expanded playoff gave Georgia a lot of hope because they almost never finish any season outside of the top 12, but the new playoff has ultimately become the thing that has put a stop to Georgia's dynasty and become their kryptonite.
The expanded CFP has done more bad than good for Georgia
Georgia has made the playoff each of the two years the new 12-team format has existed. In fact, Georgia has earned a first round bye both years as well. But instead of taking advantage of that they have lost both of their quarterfinal matchups in the new CFP.
So what was thought to be a good thing for Georgia has turned out to hurt the program as UGA can't find a way to have success in the new playoff format. In fact, Georgia has somehow not won a single playoff game since that dominant win over TCU three years ago.
So is this just a rough stretch for Georgia in the playoff, or is the new format actually Georgia's kryptonite? At this point it is impossible to say, but so far Georgia has shown they are unable to conquer the new playoff.
But maybe that will change in 2026.