Georgia Deserves to be Ranked Number 1 in Tonight’s Playoff Rankings
Anything else is an act of pure blasphemy.
Tonight at 7 pm on ESPN, the first College Football Playoff rankings of the 2017 season will be revealed. We are 9 weeks into a season that has been filled with many surprises, and now it is in the hands of the playoff committee to sort out all the wild results of the season. The committee translates that into a cohesive list of the 25 best teams the nation has to offer.
When the rankings are revealed tonight, no other team besides Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs should hold the number 1 spot. The committee is supposed to evaluate all the team’s resumes without bias, and rank the teams in order of who is most deserving. There should be “no bias” in relation to brand name or AP rankings. If this is truly the case, then Georgia will be the number 1 team, not Alabama.
When comparing the resumes of both Georgia and Alabama, we should first look at strength of schedule. Per teamrankings.com, Georgia has played the 8th toughest schedule in college football, while Alabama’s schedule ranks a mere 38th. In fact, if you combine the number of votes received in this week’s AP poll by the eight teams the Tide have played this year, you would have a big fat 0. To put that in perspective, Toledo, Boise State and Army all received votes to be ranked in the top 25 this past week. In the eyes of the AP voters, Army is better than anybody Alabama has played all season.
Now, I will be the first to admit, I was not high on this Georgia team coming into the season. I was not a firm believer in Kirby Smart. I thought that Michelle and Chubb were getting too much hype. I didn’t know how their offensive line would fare. I will admit now that I was wrong, as they have proved themselves to me time and time again this season.
Georgia is in possession of arguably the best win any team has notched all year (though at the time nobody realized it) when they went on the road and beat Notre Dame. The red sea took over South Bend that night and the Bulldogs squeaked out a win over a then 24th ranked Irish team. Now, that Notre Dame team is 7–1 and is squarely in the playoff conversation.
Alabama’s best win, on the other hand, is likely a road win at Texas A&M team. They were able to jump out to a 24–3 lead before the wheels fell of and they narrowly won 27–19. Mississippi State, by the way, just whooped that same Aggie team on the road this past weekend 35–14.
Despite playing the 8th hardest schedule in the country, Georgia ranks top 5 in team defense, and top 30 in team offense. They have proven to be a complete all around team. You would be hard pressed to find a real weakness on their roster.
Furthermore, if you were to compare the results of games in which Georgia and Alabama played common opponents, they would favor the Bulldogs. Both teams have played Tennessee and Vanderbilt. While both teams blew out Vanderbilt, Georgia dominated Tennessee in much greater fashion than Alabama did, and it was on the road. They beat the Vols 41–0, in a game that was never in question while forcing 4 turnovers. Alabama struggled early, and only held a 7–0 lead just minutes before halftime.
I still believe that Alabama is the best team in the country, as their competitive depth is incredible. I genuinely believe that their second string could form its own team and also make the playoffs. However, the Crimson Tide do not deserve to be ranked number 1 at this point in the season. Georgia has an infinitely better resume, and if they are not at the top of the polls at the end of the night, it will be yet another revelation into the bias of the committee.
