It doesn't feel like a matter of if but rather a matter of when the College Football Playoff will expand. Nothing has been officially decided on yet, but the powers at be sound motivated to expand the CFP and it doesn't look like anything is going to stop them.
The most likely outcome is a 24-team playoff, but there is a chance it could be a 16-team playoff as well. Either way fans are very upset about either outcome because of the ramifications it will have on the regular season.
And for Georgia they most likely will see their rivalries against Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech suffer if expansion occurs.
Georgia football's rivalries will suffer major blow if the College Football Playoff expands
The greatest thing about college football has always been how important the regular season is. Even in today's 12-team playoff format Georgia can only afford two losses before missing out on the playoff becomes a possibility.
If the CFP were to expand to 24 teams then they could lose even more games and still make the playoff. That may sound like a good thing for Georgia because it decreases the chances that they'll ever miss the playoff, but the regular season will feel meaningless.
In a 24-team playoff Georgia could lose four games and still make it in. That means every individual regular season game is far less meaningful because a couple losses won't hurt them.
While expansion will devalue every regular season game, rivalry games will suffer the most. Georgia's matchups with Auburn and Florida are some of the biggest games every season, but if Georgia can still easily make the playoff with a loss then they won't matter as much. Back in the day a loss to either team would end their hopes of winning a national title, but that will no longer exist.
Then there is the annual season finale against Georgia Tech. If Georgia entered that matchup with a 9-2 record or better then this game would be completely irrelevant because they will already have their playoff spot locked up.
This realization is something that has been brought to the table during expansion discussions, but does anyone in the room care? Not even a little.
College Football Playoff expansion can still be a good thing for Georgia
Playoff expansion wouldn't be all bad for Georgia because a 24-team field would nearly guarantee that UGA would make it in the playoff every year. A 9-3 record in the SEC will always make a 24-team playoff, and an 8-4 record would have a good chance as well.
For a program like Georgia it is hard to imagine them ever doing worse than 8-4, so Georgia would more than likely always find themselves in a 24-team playoff.
This hardly feels worth it though. If Georgia went 8-4 in a season even their biggest fans wouldn't believe that they deserve a shot at a championships. Unfortunately it may just be a matter of time until this is a reality and rivalry games matter far less than they ever have before.
And one thing that's being overlooked as well is that a 24-team playoff likely means the end of conference championship games as well.
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