The Georgia Bulldogs have been named as one of the seven college football teams that could make the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff with three losses.
All seven of the teams that Brad Crawford of 247Sports highlights as potential three-loss playoff teams hail from either the SEC or Big Ten. Schedule is a key factor in teams that have a shot to make the playoff with three losses.
A three-loss Power Four conference champion would make the playoff as an automatic qualifier. However, Crawford is primarily looking at teams that could earn an at-large bid.
In order for a three-loss Power Four school to win an at-large bid, they will need some help. They’ll need some upsets along the way and they’ll have to play a challenging schedule themselves without any suffering any embarrassing losses.
Georgia’s tough schedule is a big reason with Crawford thinks the Bulldogs could make the playoff with three losses. Crawford notes that Georgia would have to lose to Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas (all three are road games).
“Given the challenging schedule with possibly six games against top 25 teams if you include Kentucky in that mix, the Bulldogs could foreseeably lose a couple regular-season games (or another SEC title game appearance) and still get in the playoff with a 9-3 or 10-3 finish,” said Crawford.
Most good college football teams would have trouble getting through Georgia’s 2024 schedule without multiple losses. The Bulldogs should be able to manage at least a 10-2 campaign this season, which would likely be enough to make the playoff.
“Given the way this program has recruited under Smart and its recent dominance at the top of the sport, the expanded playoff will feature Georgia for many years to come and it won’t take unbeaten — or even one-loss seasons — to get there,” continued Crawford.
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Georgia has more margin of error in the expanded playoff era. The Bulldogs are a team nobody wants to face in the postseason. Georgia has outscored its opponents 128-10 in its last two bowl games.