ATHENS — The second week of College Football Playoff rankings are out and the Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 2 team.

Georgia picked up a ranked win this past Saturday, beating now No. 14 Missouri 30-21. Ohio State beat Rutgers 35-16 and is the No. 1 ranked team. Michigan beat Purdue 41-13 to remain No. 3 in the rankings.

“I haven’t really looked at it,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks said. “It’s not about where you start, it’s where you finish.”

Washington stayed behind Florida State after the Huskies beat USC 52-42, while Florida State beat Pitt 24-7. The Huskies are still No. 5 with Florida State at No. 4. Oregon is the highest-ranked one-loss team at No. 6.

The Bulldogs have a chance to further pad their resume this week when they welcome No. 10 Ole Miss into Athens. The Rebels moved up after beating Texas A&M 38-35 this past week.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart knows Lane Kiffin and company will be more than capable of making things difficult. Ole Miss is 8-1 on the season, with the lone loss coming against Alabama back in September.

“Lane does a great job with his program, with his team. They have a great staff,” Smart said. “They have really good players. He’s done an incredible job. The quarterback’s playing at a high level. Great backs. I think Pete on defense has brought unbelievable energy. You see it the way they play and the way they attack the ball. They come after the ball. They lead the SEC in, I’m pretty sure, turnover margin. But I know they have the fewest fumbles and the most fumbles gotten. They do a great job of that. They attack that, and they play really hard. We’ve got a hell of a challenge.”

The Bulldogs are 9-0 on the season and 6-0 in SEC play. The Bulldogs can clinch a berth in the SEC championship game by either beating Ole Miss this weekend or seeing Missouri beat No. 13 Tennessee this week. The Missouri-Tennessee game will be played before Georgia-Ole Miss.

As for the SEC West, Alabama can clinch the SEC West with either a win over Kentucky or a loss by Ole Miss. The Crimson Tide are the No. 8 ranked team and are coming off a 42-28 win over LSU. Alabama and Georgia last met in the 2022 National Championship Game, with Georgia winning 33-18. Alabama did beat Georgia the last time the two sides met in the SEC championship game back during the 2021 season.

Georgia’s game against Ole Miss is set for a 7 p.m. ET start. ESPN will broadcast the game.

College Football Playoff rankings Week 11