Danny Kanell Names First Team That ‘Punched Their Ticket’ to College Football Playoff

Georgia’s 20-17 win at Alabama on Saturday night has at least one national analyst ready to hand the Bulldogs a College Football Playoff bid with six games still left on the regular-season schedule.

College football analyst Danny Kanell posted on X Sunday morning that Georgia is “the first team that punched their ticket to the playoff and most likely as the #1 seed.” He added that the Bulldogs “passed the biggest (and only?) test, and low-key the remaining schedule is easy.”

It's an overstatement to say there are no tests left for the Bulldogs. SEC conference play has delivered surprising results almost every week, including Week 6's upsets by Oklahoma over Texas, Kentucky over LSU and South Carolina over Florida.

How did Georgia beat Alabama?

Danny Kanell Names First Team That ‘Punched Their Ticket’ to College Football Playoff — Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart looks on during the second quarter against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The No. 2 Bulldogs (6-0, 4-0 SEC) ran for 206 yards at Bryant-Denny Stadium without leading rusher Nate Frazier. Dwight Phillips Jr. carried 17 times for 120 yards, Bo Walker added 69 and quarterback Gunner Stockton completed 18 of 22 passes for 249 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Stockton also scored on a 14-yard run in the third quarter.

Georgia outgained Alabama 455-346, averaged 7.9 yards per play to the Crimson Tide’s 5.9 and sacked quarterback Keelon Russell four times. Still, the finish drew controversy. Officials didn’t flag Georgia safety KJ Bolden on what appeared to be pass interference in the end zone late in the fourth quarter, and Bolden sacked Russell on the next snap to push Alabama out of field-goal range.

“We can’t put the game in that situation where the officials come into play,” Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We just got to control the things we can control.”

The result was Georgia coach Kirby Smart’s first win in Tuscaloosa and the program’s first regular-season win over Alabama since 2007. Paul Finebaum picked Alabama before the game, and Josh Pate argued the Crimson Tide may have been the sport’s best team.

“I didn’t come here to lose,” Smart said.

Georgia’s remaining 2026 football schedule

Oct. 17: vs. Auburn
Oct. 31: vs. Florida (Atlanta)
Nov. 7: at Ole Miss
Nov. 14: vs. Missouri
Nov. 21: at South Carolina
Nov. 28: vs. Georgia Tech

Is Georgia’s playoff spot locked up?

Not officially. The 12-team format gives automatic bids to the Power 4 conference champions and first-round byes to the four highest-ranked teams, so Georgia’s seeding will hinge on November.

The toughest remaining date is the trip to No. 9 Ole Miss, which eliminated Georgia 39-34 in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal last January. Auburn arrives in Athens off a bye under first-year coach Alex Golesh, and the Florida-Missouri result showed Missouri can beat ranked SEC teams after the Tigers routed the Gators 45-17.

Florida’s own form has swung week to week. The Gators beat Ole Miss 52-28 in September but lost 38-19 to South Carolina on Saturday.

Georgia could climb to No. 1 in Sunday’s AP Top 25 after No. 1 Texas fell 27-24 to Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry.

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