ATHENS — Georgia would be better off facing Texas than Texas A&M in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 7.

The Bulldogs match up better against the Longhorns and could more likely sustain a loss to them and still make the 12-team College Football Playoffs.

That said, Georgia coach Kirby Smart made it very clear the only focus in the UGA football building this week is on Georgia Tech.

Georgia clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday after wild round of upsets, setting up a Dec. 7 meeting against the winner of the game between Texas and Texas A&M in College Station on Saturday.

The Bulldogs’ shuffled standing has led to a great deal of speculation of how the updated CFP rankings might look when they come out at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night.

Of course, the only rankings that matter are those that will be revealed on Dec. 8, when the 12-team field will be set after all of the teams’ have played in their respective league championship games.

Georgia has an in-state championship to settle first, playing host to an upset-minded Georgia Tech team at 7:30 p.m. on Friday in Sanford Stadium.

Smart indicated it will be an intense, physical football game that will require all of his team’s focus, and the result of it will play a role in Georgia’s playoff hopes.

The Bulldogs would clinch an automatic playoff berth and first-round bye in the CFP with a win in the SEC Championship Game regardless of the outcome of the Friday night battle with the Yellow Jackets.

But a win over Georgia Tech — a program that handed Miami its only loss of the season earlier this month — could give the Bulldogs some grace with the College Football Playoff selection committee should Georgia lose the SEC title game.

That’s one aspect of why playing a 10-1 Texas team — projected No. 3 by ESPN in tonight’s rankings — instead of Texas A&M (8-3 and projected 15th) would be a better scenario for Georgia.

Not only does losing to a considerably higher-ranked team look better on a resume, but the CFP committee would have to take into account the Bulldogs beat the Longhorns in Austin earlier this season by a 30-15 count.

Beyond that, Georgia appears to match up better with Texas, which plays a more conventional pro-style offense with quarterback Quinn Ewers.

Ewers, while mobile, is not a running quarterback and presents more of a stationary target for the Bulldogs’ defense to zero-in on.

Texas A&M quarterback Marcel Reed is a dual-threat, having passed for 1,426 yards with 12 touchdowns and 3 interceptions, but also, rushing for 441 yards and 6 touchdowns on 93 carries. Reed’s 13.6 yards per completion rank fourth in the SEC, presenting the sort of shot-play threat that has given UGA trouble.

Another factor to consider is human nature: Texas, with its high ranking and one loss, is likely in the 12-team CFP field regardless of how it fares against Texas A&M on Saturday or Georgia should it win Saturday and play in the SEC title game.

The Aggies, with three losses, must beat the Longhorns and the Bulldogs to make the playoffs.

Texas could have its work cut out in its renewed rivalry with Texas A&M in a once-annual meeting that hasn’t been played since 2011 — the year before the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012.

SEC teams ranked in the Top 25 are only 13-12 (.520) in true road games this season.

That said, the Longhorns won five of the past six games it played in College Station dating back to 2001, including the most recent matchup in 2011 (27-25).