Kirby Smart has said many times “humility is one week away” in the SEC, and now his Georgia football team is experiencing just that.
Ole Miss bettered the Bulldogs by a 28-10 count on a rainy Saturday afternoon in Oxford, delivering a mighty blow to Georgia’s postseason trek.
RELATED: How Ole Miss poured it on Georgia in rainy game, 28-10
Smart told his team in the postgame locker room on Saturday night that, “our future is in front of us,” very aware the Bulldogs will make the 12-team College Football Playoffs should they win out.
That said, a home test with current SEC leader Tennessee at 7:30 p.m. next Saturday is on deck, and the regular-season finale with Georgia Tech looks much tougher after the Yellow Jackets upset No. 4 Miami.
At this moment it appears unlikely Georgia will be making its fourth SEC Championship Game appearance on the heels of the defeat, with Alabama and now Ole Miss owning tiebreakers over them should such a scenario play out.
The newest ESPN college football playoff projections have Georgia ranked at No. 10 — Texas is the projected SEC Champion and would get the bye.
It’s important to note that, if the Bulldogs win out, they would surely move up significantly in the CFP rankings and could finish as high as No. 5 without playing in the SEC Championship Game.
Indeed, many of the highest-ranked teams still have to face one another -- if not in the regular season, then in the respective conference title games -- leading to a cannibalism of sorts.
That’s why Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin -- whose team is currently not projected to make the field -- said things “would work itself out,” leaving him confident his team would make the 12-team CFP by winning out.
RELATED: Lane Kiffin riding high after ‘signature win,’ shares offensive key to beating UGA
When applying the rankings to the CFP field seedings, it’s important to note that only conference championship game winners can be seeded in the top four of the CFP field and receive a first-round bye
There’s a lot of football left, but if the current ESPN CFP Rankings hold true -- extremely unlikely — the seedings would be as follows:
First-round byes
(Four highest ranked projected conference championship game winners)
1. Oregon (10-0) Big Ten
2. Texas (8-1) SEC
3. BYU (9-0) Big 12
4. Miami (9-1) ACC
At-large teams and fifth-highest ranked conference champ
5. Ohio State (8-1) vs. Boise State
6. Penn State (8-1) vs. Georgia
7. Tennessee (8-1) vs. Alabama
8. Indiana (10-0) vs. Notre Dame
9. Notre Dame (8-1) at Indiana
10. Alabama (7-2) at Tennessee
11. Georgia (7-2) at Penn State
12. Boise State (8-1) (Highest-ranked Group of Five conference champ) at Ohio State
ESPN projected CFP rankings
1. Oregon
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Penn State
5. Tennessee
6. Indiana
7. BYU
8. Notre Dame
9. Alabama
10. Georgia
11. Miami
12. Boise State
13. Ole Miss
14. SMU
15. Texas A&M
16. Kansas State
17. Colorado
18. Washington State
19. LSU
20. South Carolina
21. Louisville
22. Clemson
23. Missouri
24. Pitt
25. Army
Current SEC standings
Tennessee 5-1 SEC (8-1 overall)
Beat Miss. St. 33-14; Next: at Georgia, vs. UTEP, at Vanderbilt
Texas A&M 5-1 SEC (7-2 overall)
Idle; Next: vs. New Mexico St., at Auburn, vs. Texas
Texas 4-1 SEC (8-1 overall)
Beat Florida 49-17; Next: at Arkansas, vs. Kentucky, at Texas A&M
Georgia 5-2 SEC (7-2 overall)
Lost 28-10 Ole Miss; Next: vs. Tennessee, vs. UMass, vs. Georgia Tech
Ole Miss 4-2 SEC (8-2 overall)
Won 28-10 Georgia; Next: idle, at Florida, vs. Mississippi State
Alabama 4-2 SEC, (7-2 overall)
Beat LSU 42-13; Next: vs. Mercer, at Oklahoma, vs. Auburn
Missouri 3-2 SEC, (7-2 overall)
Beat Oklahoma 30-23; Next: at South Carolina, at Miss. St., vs. Arkansas
LSU 3-2 SEC (6-3 overall)
Lost to Alabama 42-13; Next: at Florida, vs. Vanderbilt, vs. Oklahoma
