The College Football Playoff announced its final four teams Sunday, and to the surprise of few, two-time defending champion Georgia will not be part of the field.

Michigan was No. 1, Washington was No. 2, Texas was No. 3, and Alabama was No. 4, much to the chagrin of ACC champion Florida State, which was voted No. 5.

Georgia was tabbed No. 6.

The announcement came just hours after Bulldog head coach Kirby Smart lobbied the committee in his post-game press conference to include the Bulldogs.

“It seems like this is the year that it should be the four best teams, because you can make a case for deserving for everybody. It's unfortunate that these kids who give so much and play so hard, not just at Georgia, all these schools, they don't get to decide it really on the field,” Smart said. “It's sitting back with a committee who has to determine who the best four teams are. If it's truly the four best teams, let's put the four best teams in.”

Unfortunately, that did not happen.

Smart said the mood in the locker room after the game was what you would expect.

His message to his players was simple.

“I love 'em. I mean, I love 'em. Guys in there, two classes of guys in that room that have not lost a game. You're looking at, I don't know, 10, 15 NFL players who lose it feels like every other week. Two classes of our kids have not lost a game,” Smart said. “But they're resilient, they're fighters. In life a lot of times you really can't get better until you lose sometimes because you have to find out what you can do better. It was sad. There were some really upset guys. Guys really care about this team. The culture is really good on this team. They were hurt in there, rightfully so. The message doesn't change. Looking inward and figuring out what we can do.”

As far as what’s next for the Bulldogs, it’s expected Georgia will head to the Orange Bowl, which gets the highest-ranked SEC/Big Ten team not in the playoffs.

With Georgia No. 6, all signs point to the Bulldogs receiving the opportunity for a return trip to Miami, likely against Florida State.