Georgia can still make the College Football Playoff … but rocky roads are ahead

As gut-punch losses go, Georgia’s final-minutes loss to Alabama last week — a lead the Dawgs surrendered after coming back from down 28-0 — is as tough as they come. But Georgia has a way of rebounding quite nicely after losses to Alabama.

Three years ago, Alabama upset Georgia in the SEC championship; the still-playoff-bound Dawgs responded by thumping Michigan in the Orange Bowl and then serving up the sweetest revenge possible — a win over the Tide in the national championship. Last year, Alabama again beat Georgia in the SEC championship, effectively snaking Georgia’s spot in the CFP final four. Georgia took out its aggressions on poor Florida State, hammering the Noles 63-3 in the Orange Bowl — a beating from which FSU is yet to recover.

Now we have yet another Alabama win over Georgia — the sixth in seven meetings in the Kirby Smart administration — and yet another opportunity for the Dawgs to step up. Fortunately for Georgia, this loss isn’t as devastating as, say, the 2018 national championship. (That was the infamous second-and-26 game, when a freshman named Tua Tagovailoa found a freshman named DeVonta Smith for an overtime win against the Dawgs. Georgia fans, don’t look at the time on the clock when another Alabama freshman, Ryan Williams, caught the go-ahead touchdown Saturday night.)

The 12-team College Football Playoff means Georgia still has plenty of breathing room; Georgia could probably lose two games and still get in. And the Dawgs might need every bit of that airspace; after years of complaints that Georgia feasted on cupcake schedules, this year Georgia is running headlong into concrete. Still ahead: No. 2 Texas, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 4 Tennessee, and only the Vols are coming to Athens.

But before all that, there are some on-paper “easier” showdowns. This weekend, Georgia…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-10-02 16:36:38

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