No team has made the College Football Playoff with three losses. In 2024 a few 9-3 teams had good arguments for why they should make the playoff, but up to this point a 3-loss team is yet to be invited to the CFP.
It is likely just a matter of time though until that changes, and On3's Josh Pate believes it will happen this year.
Asked @JoshPateCFB for his @TNLegend boldest SEC take entering 2026
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) July 27, 2026
"I'll say a 9-3 SEC team makes the Playoff.
"This is the year.
"We haven't had a three-loss team make it yet."
Full chat: https://t.co/TSGxNZRaKb pic.twitter.com/Xf4ghQ0zoz
Pate even went as far as to say that he thinks a 9-3 team from the SEC will make the playoff this season. That is great news for Georgia because if they happen to go 9-3 this year Pate still thinks they will have a chance to win a National Championship.
Georgia's worst-case scenario could still end in a CFP appearance
Georgia has only lost three regular season games once since Kirby Smart became head coach, and that occurred during his first season. That may make it seem really unlikely that Georgia would go 9-3 this year, but Vegas thinks it's possible.
Vegas has Georgia's projected win total for the 2026 season at 9.5 wins. They do slightly favor 10 wins over nine, but Vegas essentially is saying that Georgia is equally likely to go 9-3 and 10-2 this year.
A 10-2 record should be good enough to make the playoff, but a 9-3 record would put them on the chopping block. Unfortunately a 9-3 record is possible for Georgia this season.
Georgia's road games at Alabama and Ole Miss are obvious spots where they could lose. Their home matchup against Oklahoma in week four is another tough game as well. All nine other games Georgia should expect to win, but upsets happen all the time so anything is possible.
Georgia more than likely will win at least 10 games this season and comfortably clinch their spot in the playoff, but there is a world where they finish 9-3. The good news for them is that Pate thinks they could still find themselves in the playoff field likely due to how challenging an SEC schedule is compared to every other conference.
An expanded CFP was the best thing to happen to Georgia
The playoff expanding to 12 teams is one of the best things to ever happen to Georgia. Now that the playoff lets 12 teams in it feels nearly impossible for Georgia to ever miss the CFP again.
Let's assume the playoff has been 12 teams since it began. Looking at Smart's tenure at Georgia they would've only missed the playoff one time during his first season in 2016. Every year since then Georgia would've made the playoff, and that isn't likely to end anytime soon.
There are also rampant discussions about the playoff expanding beyond 12 teams in the coming years too with 24 teams being the most likely landing spot. If that happens then it will be even more difficult for Georgia to ever miss the playoff.
The end goal at Georgia is to win playoff games, so just making the playoff will never be good enough, but knowing that it is really difficult for them to ever miss the playoff is extremely reassuring.
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