Who Gets Left Out of the College Football Playoff?
After Georgia did more than go toe-to-toe with #1 Alabama on Saturday (the Bulldogs led for most of the SEC Championship game), should Kirby Smart and company stay in the top 4? If they do, that would mean the committee is willing to overlook the fact that Georgia was one more loss than the Big 12 and Big Ten champs.
Oklahoma avenged its loss in the regular season to Texas in the Big 12 title game and Kyler Murray, in my opinion, has edged in front of Tua Tagovailoa in the Heisman Trophy race. The knock against the Sooners, as everyone knows by now, is that they don't play enough defense to make them one of the four best teams in the country. I would agree. The imbalance outweighs the value of Oklahoma's exciting, high-scoring offense.
Ohio State, win or lose in the Big Ten championship, was never a factor for me. The Buckeyes lost by an astounding 29 points at Purdue, struggled to distance themselves from a Nebraska team having a historically bad season and needed overtime and a failed two-point conversion to survive at Maryland. Yes, Ohio State's 63 points against a stout Michigan defense were impressive, but not enough to send them into the playoff.
Do we want to see Alabama-Georgia again? Do you remember how great last year's National Championship game was? Or how the Bulldogs were going to end the Tide's undefeated 2018 if not for a Jalen Hurts-to-the-rescue performance in the 4th quarter. Georgia proved it is one of the four best teams in the country, two losses or not. When the rankings come out Sunday afternoon, I hope they are unchanged from 24 hours prior; 1. Alabama, 2. Clemson, 3. Notre Dame, 4. Georgia.