Georgia and Michigan are pretty much guarantees of a return to the College Football Playoff now.
While there is nothing official until that is done, we can safely say that Georgia and Michigan will return to the College Football Playoff for the second straight season.
The Dawgs and Wolverines met at the Orange Bowl this past holiday season. Although the score was overwhelmingly in favor of Georgia, Michigan took the loss in stride and has not gone undefeated since. The Dawgs improved to 12-0 on the season by crushing Georgia Tech in a Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate, while the Wolverines also improved to 12-0 by bombing Ohio State late in the game.
Except for awful performances in the SEC and Big Ten championship games, both teams participate.
Are Georgia and Michigan virtual locks for the college football game now?
In theory, we could pair TCU with the Dawgs and Wolverines, if the Horned Frogs beat Iowa State this evening and reach the Big 12 Championship Game at 12-0. However, there is a clear order of what a 12-0 team can endure in their conference title bouts the most: Georgia, then Michigan and then CSU. This is why these three teams exist in this order.
If the Dogs lose to the LSU Tigers in Atlanta, they’re sure to win anyway. This is because LSU with two losses would make the four-team field as SEC champion. LSU will go from No. 5 to probably No. 3 in the final College Football Playoff rankings. Conversely, unless the Dawgs are completely blown away by the Bayou Bengals, they are not going to fall from No. 1 to No. 5.
When it comes to Michigan, the Wolverines may be in the same position as Georgia, but not exactly. That’s because, even though they’re also 12-0, losing at a neutral site to either Purdue, Illinois, or Iowa in Indianapolis would be vastly worse, as the Boilermakers, Fighting Illini, or Hawkeyes have no chance of making the playoffs at all. However, Michigan will be a huge favorite over all of them.
And if we were to include TCU in this discussion, the Horned Frogs could get a home win over Iowa and a neutral site loss to either Kansas State or Texas. This is because the Wildcats and Longhorns are two of the better teams out of the three still in it to win the Big Ten West title. TCU losing a regular season rematch in nearby Arlington isn’t good, but it’s not terrible.
In the end, Georgia is about to go as far as possible. USC’s loss to Notre Dame guarantees entry for the Dawgs. Same goes for Michigan, and possibly with TCU. Michigan is not a complete lock to make the playoffs because a loss to the Big Ten West champion could be disastrous, but that is not likely to happen. TCU could lose to K-State or Texas in Arlington…
While Georgia and Michigan are virtual locks, the Dawgs are pretty much certain at this point.
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