Georgia No. 9 in CFP Rankings 'an Absolute Joke'
Tuesday night, the first College Football Playoff Ranking was released for the 2020 season. One of the bigger surprises of the night was seeing the Georgia Bulldogs sit at No. 9 with two losses. Of course, this sent a lot of sports social media into a frenzy.
Georgia was ranked No. 9 ahead of several teams with one loss or even being undefeated. It received a lot of negative backlash, but none more than from CBS analyst Danny Kanell who accused the committee of "playing favorites with the SEC" and further explained why Georgia has no business in the top 10.
"At 5-2, to come in at No. 9 is an absolute joke. It shows the love affair that the committee has with the SEC, which is OK some years, Kanell said. "This year, Georgia's supposedly dominant defense was shredded by both Alabama and the Florida Gators. Where is this dominant defense supposedly coming from? They have one win, which is OK against an Auburn team that came all the way back in Week 2."
While Kanell may be right about Georgia losing in its two biggest games, there is also no question an argument can be made that the Dawgs deserve to be where they are. Yes, they may be in front of undefeated BYU and one-loss Indiana, but what should put those two teams ahead of Georgia? BYU's best win is over Boise State, who was playing their fourth quarterback. Indiana's best win: Michigan? They haven't beaten anyone worthy either (Michigan, Penn State, Michigan State, Rutgers). They lost their only important game to Ohio State, so why should they be ahead of Georgia?
This Georgia team probably won't be a playoff team this year, but they have hung in all season. Not many teams can say they played in Tuscaloosa and were leading near the end of the third quarter with a quarterback that was once a walk-on. Not many teams could say they played a relatively competitive game with half of their defense gone against an elite Florida offense. Losing five or six starters for weeks at a time during a shortened season will hurt any team. Of course, these can be looked at as excuses, but many teams in the nation haven't faced as much drama at the most important position on the field (quarterback).
What's significant to note is that the College Football Playoff committee considers injuries. How healthy are teams during their wins and losses? That matters, at least to the committee.
This is a new-look Georgia team with JT Daniels starting at quarterback. Perhaps the committee considered that when talking about the first rankings this year. Whatever the case may be, this Georgia team is without question a top-10 team when fully healthy on defense. Add what appears to be a more effective offense, and it looks like Georgia could be gearing toward a top five or six finish if they keep things rolling.
