Bulldogs Football Playoff Hopes Diminished

With a 44-28 loss to the Florida Gators that drops the Georgia Bulldogs record to 4-2, there is a very slim chance of advancing to the College Football Playoff.

After Saturday's 44-28 loss to the Florida Gators that drops the Georgia Bulldogs record to 4-2, there is now a very slim chance of advancing to the College Football Playoff.

Since the playoff format's inception in 2014, there has never been a two-loss team to be selected for one of the top-four spots. This reality provides the Bulldogs with a distinct view of their immediate future.

Georgia's loss was an ugly one, and that result obviously leads to even more difficulty for the Bulldogs down the stretch. The two losses are to high-quality opponents with the first to the No. 2-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide and Saturday's to No. 8-ranked Florida. Both games were won easily by Alabama, and the loss to Florida seriously affects Georgia's playoff hopes.

With the Bulldogs having no ranked opponents remaining on their schedule, there is little likelihood that the Bulldogs "control their own destiny." There will have to be help from other nationally ranked teams for Georgia to have any chance to be ranked in the top four in the country.

As head coach Kirby Smart noted out in his postgame press conference following the loss to Florida, this is the first time in the last four seasons where they haven't controlled their own destiny. 

So, what are the possible scenarios that would enable Georgia to be in the top four?

Georgia has to hope that Florida falls apart and loses two more games within the conference. The Gators have five remaining games: Arkansas, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee and LSU. 

Florida losses with Georgia running the table would get them back to the SEC Championship for the fourth consecutive year. The reality is that recent history indicates the SEC East was won Saturday night. 

In the past five seasons, the winner of Georgia-Florida ended up atop the SEC East and advanced to the SEC Championship Ggame. 

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