For the first time in the College Football Playoff’s short history, two SEC teams hold the top two spots. A bigger story, however, is that Alabama has been removed from the number one spot it grasped so comfortably in the AP Poll. The new sheriff in town is Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs.
Both Alabama and Georgia have started their seasons with a perfect 8-0 record. The difference between the two, however, is the fact that the Bulldogs have two wins over top-25 teams while the Tide have none with the collapse of Florida State. Nick Saban’s machine is alive and well in Tuscaloosa, but the voters will need to see more from this year’s team against better competition. That time is coming, but it still may not be enough to push Saban’s squad over Smart’s ‘Dawgs.
LSU, Mississippi State, and Auburn all still remain on Alabama’s schedule and all three are currently top-25 teams according to the new CFP rankings. Georgia’s schedule is much lighter now in the back end, but they, too, still have the 14th-ranked Auburn Tigers to play.
If both teams are able to win out, there would be room for debate as to whom should hold that top spot. The edge will most likely then go to Georgia as they have a solid non-conference win over #3 Notre Dame. Regardless, both teams would still have to meet in Atlanta for the SEC Championship Game in what could be a de facto first round playoff game. Just as chaos would have it, of course, even a one-loss Tide/Bulldogs team would still have a legitimate shot at the top four.
If both teams found their way into the playoffs, the seeding would no longer matter as their would be very little in the way of ‘geographical advantage’ between the two should they meet.
Either way, fans and media alike could be in for the most exciting SEC Championship Game since Tim Tebow was still in school. This renewed balance of competition in the conference is a breath of fresh air no matter how you look at it. And as long as Kirby Smart remains his Alma Matter’s head coach, Alabama fans will root for him.
Just not against the Tide.
Here is the full list of rankings according to the CFP Committee
1 Georgia (8-0)
2 Alabama (8-0)
3 Notre Dame (7-1)
4 Clemson (7-1)
5 Oklahoma (7-1)
6 Ohio State (7-1)
7 Penn State (7-1)
8 TCU (7-1)
9 Wisconsin (8-0)
10 Miami (7-0)
11 Oklahoma State (7-1)
12 Washington (7-1)
13 Virginia Tech (7-1)
14 Auburn (6-2)
15 Iowa State (6-2)
16 Mississippi State (6-2)
17 USC (7-2)
18 UCF (7-0)
19 LSU (6-2)
20 NC State (6-2)
21 Stanford (6-2)
22 Arizona (6-2)
23 Memphis (7-1)
24 Michigan State (6-2)
25 Washington State (7-2)
