Georgia football has found themselves in the exact same spot as last season. The Bulldogs won the SEC Championship for the second year in a row and have earned a top four seed and first round bye in the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row.
The Bulldogs will have to wait about 10 days to learn who their opponent in the quarterfinals will be, but they do know they will play the winner of the first round matchup between No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 11 Tulane. If Georgia is looking for the easiest game then they should be hoping Tulane pulls off the upset, but that might not actually be the best outcome.
While it may sound crazy, there is one stat that shows Georgia should hope they get to play Ole Miss instead of Tulane.
Georgia should hope they get to play Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff
Georgia may have found themselves with the most favorable path out of the top four teams in the playoff this season. Getting to play Tulane or an Ole Miss team without their head coach is about as good as it can get, but the Bulldogs should be hoping they get to play the Rebels.
Not only does playing a team without their head coach sound nice, but this would be a rematch from earlier this season. That fact alone is very significant because Kirby Smart is 4-0 as Georgia's head coach in rematches. These four wins include Auburn in the 2017 SEC Championship game, Alabama in the 2021 National Championship game, Texas in the 2024 SEC Championship game and the Crimson Tide again on Saturday.
It likely is just a matter of time until this stat is broken, but until that occurs Georgia should hope they play as many rematches as possible. And even if that means avoiding a team like Tulane, if Smart is undefeated in rematches then it would be wise to pray that they get to play Ole Miss again.