The Georgia Bulldogs are the highest ranked team in the SEC, according to the US LBM Coaches Poll, and look like they’re all but a lock to clinch a playoff spot. However, there’s still a chance they won’t make it to the SEC championship.
The SEC championship, above all else, is based on conference record. The Texas A&M Aggies are currently ahead of Georgia in terms of SEC record, so if they win out, they’d automatically take the first spot in the SEC championship. Currently, Georgia is second, but they’re tied with Texas, Tennessee, and LSU. Georgia’s already won against Texas, so own the tie-breaker with Texas right now, and UGA wins against Tennessee, then they’ll have that tie-breaker too.
However, regardless of if Georgia wins all the rest of their games, LSU could overtake them by winning out. That’s because LSU would have a common games tiebreaker, meaning between Georgia and LSU, the Tigers would have a better record than Georgia against teams both of them have played.
Both LSU and Georgia go against Florida, Alabama, and Ole Miss. Georgia has already lost to Alabama, meaning they can only have a 2-1 record, so if LSU wins out the rest of the way, they would overtake Georgia for the second spot. In this scenario, the Georgia Bulldogs would miss out on a first round bye and could only place as high as 5th in the College Football Playoff.
Safe to say, there’s more on the line for the Georgia Bulldogs in their matchup against Florida at 3:30 p.m. ET.