The first set of College Football Playoff rankings have been released for the 2019 season. And the Georgia Bulldogs placed well in the committee’s initial rankings, as the Bulldogs came in at No. 6 in the rankings.
The top four teams are Ohio State at No. 1, LSU at No. 2, Alabama at No. 3 and Penn State at No. 4. Unbeaten Clemson came in at No. 5.
The Bulldogs (7-1, 4-1) were the highest-ranked one-loss team in both the Coaches and AP Polls, putting them ahead of the likes of No. 7 Oregon, No. 8 Utah and No. 9 Oklahoma.
Georgia boasts wins over No. 10 Florida and No. 15 Notre Dame. But the Bulldogs do have one noticeable blemish on their resume, as they lost at home to a 4-5 South Carolina team. Only once in the brief history of the College Football Playoff has a team lost to an opponent that did not reach a bowl game and still make the College Football Playoff. That happened back in 2016 with Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs will have an opportunity to play themselves into the playoff picture in the coming weeks. Georgia visits No. 11 Auburn on Nov. 16, in addition to having games against Missouri, Texas A&M and Georgia Tech. Georgia is also in the driver’s seat to win the SEC East and possibly play either Alabama or LSU in the SEC championship game. Every SEC champion has played in the College Football Playoff.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked about the significance of the rankings prior to their release on Tuesday night.
“I’m so tied in with what we’ve got this week, I don’t even think about that,” Smart said. “I don’t have any idea and don’t care. Everyone knows it doesn’t matter. What matters is how we play against Missouri. That’s the only thing we can control.”
The next chance for Georgia to impress the College Football Playoff committee will come Saturday when it hosts Missouri. The game is set for a 7 p.m. ET start and will air on ESPN.
To see the full College Football Playoff rankings for Week 11, see below.
College Football Playoff rankings for 2019 Week 11
- Ohio State
- LSU
- Alabama
- Penn State
- Clemson
- Georgia
- Oregon
- Utah
- Oklahoma
- Florida
- Auburn
- Baylor
- Wisconsin
- Michigan
- Notre Dame
- Kansas State
- Minnesota
- Iowa
- Wake Forest
- Cincinnati
- Memphis
- Boise State
- Oklahoma State
- Navy
- SMU
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