The Georgia Bulldogs could have beaten the Alabama Crimson Tide by a million points on Saturday evening, and it would not have mattered. The College Football Playoff Selection Committee was dead-set on making sure the Big Ten loser was not going to fall that far. With underdog Indiana beating favored Ohio State, they switched places, and the committee called it a day on that front...
So while Georgia may have been disrespected by the Selection Committee for not moving up a spot as a Power Four conference champion who avenged its lone loss on the campaign, it may have actually worked out quite well in the Bulldogs' favor. Again, it is all about playoff matchups and seeding. Being the No. 3 seed may be what help propels Georgia to its latest national championship.
Here is the 12-team College Football Playoff field for the 2025-26 postseason. Get ready for this...
- Indiana Hoosiers (13-0): Big Ten champion
- Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1): Big Ten runner-up
- Georgia Bulldogs (12-1): SEC champion
- Texas Tech Red Raiders (12-1): Big 12 champion
- Oregon Ducks (11-1): Big Ten at-large
- Ole Miss Rebels (11-1): SEC at-large
- Texas A&M Aggies (11-1): SEC at-large
- Oklahoma Sooners (10-2): SEC at-large
- Alabama Crimson Tide (10-3): SEC runner-up
- Miami Hurricanes (10-2): ACC at-large
- Tulane Green Wave (11-2): AAC champion
- James Madison Dukes (12-1): Sun Belt champion
And based on that seeding, here are the four first-round byes and four first-round game matchups.
- No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers (BYE)
- No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes (BYE)
- No. 3 Georgia Bulldogs (BYE)
- No. 4 Texas Tech Red Raiders (BYE)
- No. 5 Oregon Ducks vs. No. 12 James Madison Dukes
- No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels vs. No. 11 Tulane Green Wave
- No. 7 Texas A&M Aggies vs. No. 10 Miami Hurricanes
- No. 8 Oklahoma Sooners vs. No. 9 Alabama Crimson Tide
Georgia gets a far more favorable draw in the national quarterfinals as the No. 3 seed in all of this.
Georgia's path to a national championship is much easier as No. 3 seed
Because Georgia won the SEC, the Bulldogs' national quarterfinals game will be the Sugar Bowl. Big Ten champion Indiana was going to take the Rose Bowl no matter what, while Ohio State and Texas Tech will be handed the Orange and Cotton Bowls in some order. As the No. 3 seed, Georgia will be taking on the winner of the No. 6 vs. No. 11 game, as opposed to the No. 7 vs. No. 10 winner as No. 2.
So by simply staying at No. 3, Georgia gets the far easier matchup in the national quarterfinals. They will now face the winner of No. 6 Ole Miss hosting No. 11 Tulane, as opposed to the winner of No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami. Ole Miss and Tulane will have new coaches next year. Lane Kiffin has already left Oxford for LSU, while Jon Sumrall is heading to Florida after Tulane's playoff run is over.
Essentially, Georgia gets the far easier draw in the national quarterfinals than No. 2-seeded Ohio State would. The Buckeyes will get the winner of Texas A&M vs. Notre Dame. Frankly, the Buckeyes are more likely to lose their national quarterfinals game than Georgia is. The Dawgs and Buckeyes may get an extra bye week to prepare, but Texas A&M and Miami have built rosters to go on a run.
The other interesting wrinkle in this is Georgia could use the Selection Committee's blatant disregard for winning the SEC as motivation to really stick it to playoff darling Ohio State, should they meet in the Fiesta or Peach Bowl. Indiana will only have to play one of them to win the national title, but the Hoosiers are not going to be ready for what is about to hit them in Fernando Mendoza's hometown.
At this time, Georgia must take things one game at a time, and hope that more luck goes their way.