It will not matter come Tuesday night, but some things are still not adding up when dissecting the very best teams college football has to offer. Not all schedules are created equally, as Georgia has played one of the most challenging schedules in the country. So far the Bulldogs are 9-1 on the season and finished SEC play at 7-1 with wins over ranked teams in Tennessee, Ole Miss and Texas.
Unfortunately, their one loss is at home to the Alabama Crimson Tide by three points. Alabama had been the presumptive favorite to come out of the SEC entering this past weekend. However, Kalen DeBoer's team suffered its second loss of the season to Oklahoma, its first in SEC play. Its other loss is now a bad one to a borderline bowl team in the Florida State Seminoles. So where do things stand?
Heading into the the next round of College Football Playoff rankings, here is the ESPN writers' top 10.
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Indiana Hoosiers
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Oregon Ducks
- Oklahoma Sooners
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Admittedly, these feel like the right 10 teams to be in line for College Football Playoff berths, outside of the automatic qualifiers out of the ACC and Group of Five. What is troubling is how the ESPN writing staff is still unable to look past the surface level with Texas A&M when comparing them to Georgia. Just because the Aggies are 10-0 (7-0) does not mean they are the best team in the SEC.
Fortunately for everyone, the only thing that really matters is what the Selection Committee thinks.
College Football Playoff Selection can do right by Georgia Tuesday night
With Georgia's improving national championship odds, the Bulldogs are one of four teams who are effectively locks to make the playoff. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, Georgia has the fourth best odds of making the 12-team field at a staggering 98.9 percent chance. The Bulldogs will get in with a 10th win on the season over the lowly Charlotte 49ers at home on Saturday afternoon.
Of course, Texas A&M has the best odds of anyone to make the playoff at 99.9 percent. The Aggies only have Samford at home and a date on the road at a three-loss Texas team remaining. Indiana and Ohio State are above 99 percent, while Texas Tech is not far off Georgia's pace at nearly 91 percent. Again, this is not about saying Texas A&M does not belong, but rather that its resume is not as good.
Overall, Georgia will have played five teams who will be ranked heading into the final week of the season in Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas and Georgia Tech. The Bulldogs can go no worse than 3-2 in those games, assuming a loss in Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate. As for Texas A&M, the Aggies will have only played three teams who might finish the season ranked in Notre Dame, Missouri and Texas.
Ultimately, we are only going to see which SEC contender is better come playoff time. Unless Alabama were to lose an unthinkable one to Auburn in the Iron Bowl, Georgia and Texas A&M will not be facing each other in Atlanta. Georgia needs either Alabama to lose to Auburn or Texas A&M to lose to get to Atlanta. Water shall find its level eventually, but we know what team is firing on all cylinders...
Texas A&M's only argument for being ranked over UGA is it has navigated a softer schedule to 10-0.