The first College Football Playoff rankings are out. Here's where the Georgia Bulldogs sit
Georgia may sit atop the weekly college football polls that have been spitting out rankings since the preseason, but the College Football Playoff selection committee has not one but two teams above the No. 3 Bulldogs in this season's first reveal Tuesday night.
That would be No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Ohio State.
The Volunteers in recent weeks upset Alabama in Neyland Stadium and then trucked Kentucky Saturday.
Ohio State leads the FBS by average margin of victory of 32.0 per game, just ahead of Georgia’s 31.3. Georgia is No. 6 in both total yards on offense and yards allowed on defense. Ohio State does not have a win against a team ranked in the top 15 in either the coaches or AP polls, but Penn State is No. 15 in the CFP rankings.
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Georgia’s best win is a 49-3 demolition of Oregon which is No. 8 in the CFP..
It’s all a good barroom debate about which team is best because Tennessee and Georgia will have a head-to-head comparison on Saturday after they meet as 8-0 teams at 3:30 p.m. in Athens.
Tennessee’s home win against CFP No. 6 Alabama and road win at No. 10 LSU “really sealed the day,” for the No. 1 spot, selection committee chairman and N.C. State athletic director Boo Corrigan said on ESPN.
"We spent a great deal of time making sure we got 1, 2 and 3 right with the two wins by Tennessee being the determining factor," Corrigan said on a media teleconference afterwards.
As for what separated Ohio State and Georgia, Corrigan said on ESPN “the explosive nature of their offense. (Quarterback) CJ Stroud, (wide receiver) Marvin Harrison Jr. The win over Penn State, the way they came back to win that game. Very close, two well-balanced teams. At the end of the day, the committee decided that we would go with Ohio State No. 2 and Georgia No. 3.”
Here’s the full #CFBPlayoff Top 25 rankings for games played through October 29.
Where does your team rank? pic.twitter.com/BI1KBAcL2Y— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 1, 2022
This is the first of five weekly rankings before the final top 25 is unveiled on selection Sunday on Dec. 4.
The top four teams—arranged by the 13-person selection committee-make the playoff.
"There's more games to be played," Corrigan said.
Georgia is No. 3 in the initial rankings for the first time. It was No. 1 in 2021 and 2017, No. 6 in 2018 and 2019 and No. 9 in 2020. Tennessee has never been ranked higher than No. 17 in any CFP rankings in the first eight seasons of the playoff and last was ranked in 2016.
They are two of six unbeaten FBS teams.
The other four unbeatens are Ohio State, No. 4 Clemson, No. 5 Michigan and No. 7 TCU.
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The reigning national champion Bulldogs are No. 1 in the USA Today Sports AFCA Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25.
The national semifinals this year are Dec. 31 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta and Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The national championship game is Jan. 9 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Here is where Georgia football landed in the first playoff rankings
