With the expanded College Football Playoff, there’s still hope for teams that suffer two losses to win the national championship, but three losses may seem like enough to eliminate some teams. After all, since 2021, only two teams with three losses have ranked in the top 12 heading into conference championship weekend.
However, ESPN analyst Paul Finebaum thinks that the Georgia Bulldogs can buck the trend.
“I think the only team in America that could possibly lose three games and get in the playoff is Georgia,” he said on an interview with UGASports.com, “Because I don’t think the Alabama loss really counts. I know that sounds crazy but everyone that watched that game knows it was an even game. The committee will look at that and go, ‘They lost by one play in Tuscaloosa, so have they made up for that?’ And how can Georgia make up for that? Well, they’ll have to beat Texas I think, frankly because you need something.”
Currently, Georgia sits at No. 4 on the US LBM Coaches Poll. However, they not only have No. 1 Texas on their schedule, but also No. 8 Ole Miss and No. 9 Tennessee next month. The Bulldogs do already have an impressive win over No. 11 Clemson.
ESPN currently has Georgia’s playoff chances at 75.2%, which is the fourth-most of any team in the country. Georgia still has only one loss in its last 44 regular season games.
If Georgia wins at least two of those three (Texas, Ole Miss and Tennessee) games, they’d easily make the playoffs. However, it’s an interesting scenario Georgia fans could be privy too if they lose two more games.
However, Georgia has to take care of business in its other games if the Bulldogs want to have a chance at the playoff. Georgia’s next game is on Saturday, Oct. 12 against Mississippi State.