For the second week in a row, Georgia edged out Alabama for the No. 1 spot in the College Football Playoff rankings.
Alabama did pick up a ranked win over now-No. 24 LSU, but it wasn’t enough for the Crimson Tide to overtake Georgia. And given what was said by Kirby Hocutt, the CFP committee chairman, it looks like Georgia will continue to stay ranked above Alabama.
“We spent more time on Georgia and Alabama. Probably a little better test for Alabama this past week than Georgia,” Hocutt said. “The margin of what separates them continues to be close, but the difference continues to be Notre Dame.”
Georgia and Alabama both have plenty of tests left. Alabama has at least two more opportunities to pick up ranked wins over No. 16 Mississippi State and No. 10 Auburn. The Bulldogs play No. 10 Auburn this weekend in Auburn. And the Bulldogs have already locked up a spot in the SEC title game. Alabama can do so this week with a win over Mississippi State and an Auburn loss.
ESPN also had a spirited debate about Alabama’s mounting injuries, specifically at the linebacker spot. Shaun Dion Hamilton and Mack Wilson will both miss the remainder of the regular season due to injuries. And Minkah Fitzpatrick picked up an injury as well. His status going forward is unknown, though he did return to the game against LSU.
As for Georgia, Kirk Herbstreit still wants to see more out of freshman quarterback Jake Fromm. While he did make some strides against South Carolina, Herbstreit wants to see him make some plays against Auburn’s fierce defense this week.
Georgia takes on Auburn at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Alabama visits Mississippi State and kicks off at 7.
The rest of the playoff top six: Notre Dame at No. 3, Clemson at No. 4, Oklahoma at No. 5 and TCU at No. 6.