Although it was no surprise to see Georgia jump back into the picture for the College Football Playoffs, how the selection committee decides its rankings remains a head-scratcher.
Georgia moved up two spots to No. 10.
Alabama – which holds a victory over Georgia in September, moved up three positions to No. 7 despite playing FCS Mercer, while Ole Miss remained ahead of the Bulldogs at No. 9, based on its win in Oxford two weeks ago.
“We really had a long debate as a committee about Georgia and Mississippi, Miami, Alabama, those teams and really all the teams as we went through,” CFP Selection Committee Chair Warde Manuel said in a Zoom session with reporters Tuesday night. “But we really had intense conversations about those teams, and there was a lot of consideration about where teams were ranked and why and a lot of conversation about it. It was very, very thorough. We're dealing with very small margins in terms of the different things that we're looking at and comparing, so I can assure you the committee went through it intensely in the last couple of days.”
The fact Georgia remains seven spots behind Texas despite handing the Longhorns their only loss also qualifies as odd.
“Well, obviously Georgia has a very good win at Texas, but as the committee analyzed the body of work of Texas versus where Georgia is at present with two losses, even to top-25 teams, we came out that Texas was still a very strong team deserving of a 3 seed. They have a top-5 defense. Quinn Ewers is leading one of the top passing offenses in the country,” Manuel said. “We just looked at them and thought … and came out, I should say, with them at 3. It's nothing against Georgia. Georgia is a great team, but they did struggle against Ole Miss but had a great win this past week against Tennessee. We will continue to monitor both teams and see how it goes in the next few weeks.”
How Strength of Schedule factors in remains a sticking point for most.
The Bulldogs have been deemed to have the most difficult schedule in the country, but so far, the impact remains unclear.
With future non-conference games still on the schedule against Florida State, Clemson, North Carolina State, and Ohio State, Kirby Smart was asked after practice on Tuesday if he’d still have reason to schedule difficult non-conference games.
“I guess the happiness of our fans. That's the incentive, right? Because fans want you to be in the playoffs, but they sure don't want you to play cupcakes,” Smart said. “They want you to go play quality opponents. I like going to schedule a great team and going to play somebody in a neutral site game, a kickoff classic. I love all that stuff. So, I want to do as much of that as I can, but I don't know. But we'll see where all this stuff goes.”
There’s also the matter of the SEC schedule and whether or not the league will ultimately go to nine games.
The 2025 slate will once again be eight league games, but the subject of nine games is expected to be broached again come May at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Florida.
“We all knew when they started this new process, guys, we knew that the argument would be 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, first out. It's just it seems so much bigger than your first out in basketball because there are 64 in. Nobody really cares when it's 65,” Smart said. “When it's 12, 13, 14, it just seems so big, just like the fifth team used to be. But we'll see what happens. Everybody gets a chance to go on the field and play, but they need to really decide what they want.
“That's the frustrating thing because it's record-based or it's quality of opponents. It's hard to say that you shouldn't have a strength of schedule factor in there.”
Manuel claimed that the strength of the schedule plays an important role, but said Tuesday night it’s not the only criterion.
“We have to rely on how the teams are playing and who they're playing as well as how the other teams, regardless of strength of schedule, are playing their opponents. We take a look at it holistically. Strength of schedule is a component,” Manuel said. “It's an important data point to us and for us. But it is not the only assessment that we make.”
Head-to-head, he said, is another.
“Georgia had a great game this week against Tennessee, and we will continue to look at them as they progress in this season,” Manuel said. “Then there is also the possibility of being in the championship game. They perform well … then when you look at it, the last thing I'll say is Georgia is behind Alabama and Ole Miss, and they've had head-to-head losses against those teams. It's one of those things where we try to assess everything and come to a decision about where the teams are ranked."
