Having clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, the Georgia Bulldogs will likely finish the regular season with a 10-2 record before they take on either Texas, Tennessee or Texas A&M. But if they lose the SEC Championship Game, could a three-loss Georgia team still reach the College Football Playoff?
It’s a question that many have mused wondered the answer to over the past few months as the top college football teams in the country (sans Oregon) have all lost at least once with many teams in the top 10 already losing multiple times. For college sports analyst Paul Finebaum, the answer for the Bulldogs is fairly straightforward: They should be in already.
Appearing on Wednesday’s edition of ESPN’s First Take, Finebaum made it clear that he believes Georgia deserves to get into the Playoff whether they win or lose for the simple reason that they were good enough to reach the SEC Championship Game in the first place. He feels that now that it’s a 12-team playoff, there shouldn’t be as much weight placed on the exact record if the goal is to simply get the best teams into the tournament.
“If they get to the SEC Championship game and lose to Texas, you really shouldn’t get knocked out because you earned a ticket into the SEC game because of the 12-team Playoff,” Finebaum said. “They got knocked out last year being undefeated. But that was a different year.”
.@MadDogUnleashed believes a three-loss SEC team should be in the CFP 👀 pic.twitter.com/B6wQJIiQIx
— First Take (@FirstTake) November 27, 2024
In the 10-year run of the four-team College Football Playoff format, no team with so much as two losses ever qualified and even a handful of undefeated teams were snubbed through the years.
The College Football Playoff format was typically unkind to SEC Championship Game runner-ups as well even under the best circumstances. From 2014 to 2023, only the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs reached the College Football Playoff after losing SEC title game.
But a new format means an opportunity for the selection committee to act far more generously towards teams that look the part even if they don’t have the right hardware.
Do you think a 12-team playoff should include a potential 3-loss Georgia team?
Related: Paul Finebaum Admits 12-Team College Football Playoff Isn’t Perfect