The College Football Playoff committee is facing a significant challenge.
On Saturday night, the Georgia Bulldogs secured a 31-17 victory over the Tennessee Volunteers, improving their record to 8-2. Conversely, the Volunteers also dropped to 8-2, adding to what is quickly turning into a troubling situation for the playoff committee.
After Georgia’s win, there are now five teams in the SEC with 8-2 records, while the Texas Longhorns lead the conference at 9-1 in their first year in the SEC. Due to the tightly packed standings, one college football reporter believes the playoff committee will have a difficult decision ahead. Chris Vannini from The Athletic highlighted a “nightmare” scenario for the committee.
“It’s challenging to accurately rank Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Alabama. This creates a difficult situation for the CFP committee that could ultimately disadvantage Indiana. (It may also reignite the Big Ten/SEC’s push for CFP expansion),” he stated.
Vannini added, “I’m not talking about this week, but if those SEC teams all end the season with two losses—possibly including Texas as well—then if Indiana loses to Ohio State, the final rankings could be much tighter than expected.”
If Texas A&M manages to defeat Texas in their last game, there’s a strong chance that Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas, and Texas A&M could all conclude the regular season with 10-2 records.
Although the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, this has opened up even more potential for disputes. It raises the question of how many two-loss SEC teams will make the playoff while a one-loss team like Indiana might be left out.
The committee’s approach to ranking the top SEC teams alongside schools like Boise State, BYU, Indiana, and even a one-loss Penn State will be intriguing to watch.
