Copyright CBS Sports
The first-round College Football Playoff bye is a cake-topper all national championship contenders covet this time of year. The extra prep time didn't help reigning SEC champion Georgia last season after falling to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals, but this time around, it's an opportunity that could resurface should the No. 5 Bulldogs win out. That begins with Saturday's showdown against No. 10 Texas, which has four won straight SEC games to stay in the playoff picture. A home date with Charlotte follows for Georgia before the rivalry weekend finale against Georgia Tech, the frontrunners in the ACC. The Bulldogs stayed at No. 5 in this week's updated playoff rankings following last weekend's victory at Mississippi State after the four teams ahead of Georgia -- Ohio State, Indiana, Texas A&M and Alabama -- also won. College Football Playoff Rankings: Ohio State holds at No. 1 as Texas Tech jumps Ole Miss in top 25 Brad Crawford Georgia's strength of record currently sits at No. 5 nationally and third in the SEC behind the Aggies (No. 1) and Crimson Tide (No. 4). The Bulldogs are also 14th in game control and 11th in overall strength of schedule, enhanced metrics that all have a chance at improving if Georgia runs the table. The committee's new metric -- record strength -- measures how well a team performs against its schedule relative to quality of opponents. And with Texas and potential ACC champion Georgia Tech left on the docket for the Bulldogs, this should be beneficial in final discussions. "We looked at Georgia, and again, really good football team," committee chair Mack Rhoades said after the first playoff rankings. "I think Gunner Stockton at quarterback has really progressed. It certainly feels like they have more confidence in him, doing a lot more with him. Again, he's another maybe similar to (Texas A&M quarterback) Marcel Reed where he can beat you with his arm, he can beat you with his feet. "The head-to-head against Ole Miss, obviously we took that into account. We absolutely took into account the loss at home versus Alabama. But Georgia is a really, really good football team." Potential playoff seeding scenarios if Georgia wins out Texas A&M (12-0) vs. Alabama (11-1) in SEC Championship Game with Aggies winning: The committee's deliberations come down to a two-loss Alabama against one-loss Georgia for a top-4 seed with the Crimson Tide's head-to-head win over the Bulldogs on Sept. 27 coming into play if margins are even. Texas A&M (12-0) vs. Alabama (11-1) in SEC Championship Game with Crimson Tide winning: Alabama's locked into a first-round bye with the committee then deciding between the Aggies and Bulldogs. At 12 wins overall following its perfect regular season, Texas A&M would be the likely pick. Georgia (11-1) vs. Alabama (11-1) in SEC Championship Game with Georgia winning: This is the obvious ideal scenario for the Bulldogs and all that is needed would be a Texas win over Texas A&M in the regular-season finale. That would create a three-team tie for second in the conference, but sends Georgia to Atlanta over fellow one-loss teams Texas A&M and Ole Miss based on conference opponent winning percentage. The Bulldogs beat the Rebels head-to-head and would have a win over the team Texas A&M lost to in terms of common opponents -- Texas. No. 4 Alabama's home showdown with No. 11 Oklahoma this weekend is one that should be on Georgia's radar as well. If the Sooners go into Tuscaloosa and win, this throws a wrench in the SEC playoff picture and puts Georgia in the top-4 playoff mix. Alabama would still reach the SEC Championship to play Texas A&M as long as it beats Auburn, but it would be hard for the committee to justify a potential three-loss Crimson Tide team over Georgia inside the top 4 if they went on to lose to the Aggies during conference championship weekend. Last season, CFP executive director Rich Clark and the committee suggested conference championship game results are not supposed to alter seeding for the loser. However, it must be added to the scope of team-by-team evaluations. Would the committee really put Alabama (10-3) inside the top 4 over Georgia (11-1) if those are the final records when the dust settles? In short, Georgia must beat Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech to be in the first-round bye conversation, then hope for another Alabama loss or Texas A&M loss to Texas in the regular-season finale to have a legitimate shot. Avoiding scoreboard watching and focusing on the task at hand, the Bulldogs can only do so much -- and that's accomplishing the first leg this weekend with a win over the Longhorns. For now, Smart said his team's not caught up in the rankings or various talking points down the stretch. "I do know that it'll take care of itself if you handle your business, and if you don't, you'll be worried about a lot of those things," Smart said during last week's SEC teleconference. "That's just the state of college football and where it is."
