Georgia Bulldogs fans fear missing the playoff after being left outside of the bracket in the College Football Playoff. However, not only is there a significant chance they will make the playoff, but the Bulldogs also can still make the SEC championship game. There are some crazy scenarios out there, but UGA Wire found one that seems reasonable.
For those of you wanting the SEC tiebreaking procedures, here they are.
Georgia wins vs. Tennessee and wins out
First, their part. Georgia needs to beat No. 6 Tennessee this weekend. While the Bulldogs still have a 46% chance of making the playoff with a loss, it would more than likely eliminate them from the SEC championship. However, if they beat Tennessee and win out, they’d finish 10-2 (6-2 SEC), so they’d still be in pretty good shape to at least make the playoff.
Unfortunately, Georgia would need a little help to get to the SEC championship.
Week 14: Alabama loses to Oklahoma
Alabama plays a trap game on the road against the Oklahoma Sooners. Oklahoma was a ranked team until it started playing its SEC slate; they’re 1-5 against those teams. However, the Sooners have about an 18% chance of winning this matchup. This needs to happen because Alabama is ahead of Georgia due to winning head to head and tiebreaker No. 4 (cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents), so the Crimson Tide need to lose to finish 5-3 in the SEC.
Week 14: LSU loses to Vandy
The Vanderbilt Commodores shockingly upset the Alabama Crimson Tide a few weeks ago, but they’ll have to bring back that magic against LSU for Georgia to have a chance. LSU would be ahead of Georgia in Tiebreaker No. 4 (cumulative conference winning percentage of all conference opponents) unless they lose, too. ESPN gives the Commodores a 26.5% chance of winning.
If all of these events happen, one team would have a 7-1 record in the SEC (either Texas or Texas A&M) and four would have a 6-2 SEC record. You’d have to go to tiebreaker No. 4 to rule two teams out (Ole Miss and Tennessee) due to inferior conference opponent win percentage (Texas A&M and Georgia opponents have .435, Ole Miss has .375, Tennessee has .359).
Then you go through tiebreaker No. 2 between Georgia and Texas A&M, record vs. common conference opponents. Both teams have played Florida, Mississippi State, Auburn and Texas. Georgia’s win over Texas would give it the edge over the Aggies and send it to the SEC championship for a rematch against Texas.
