ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia moved back into the top tier of college football without playing a down. The idle Bulldogs rose two places to No. 3 in Sunday’s national media poll, and that ranking would hand them a first-round bye if the 12-team College Football Playoff field were set today.
A week earlier, Georgia had slid out of the top-four seeding mix after its upset loss to Auburn. Chaos elsewhere did the rest. Notre Dame dropped one spot to No. 5, and BYU fell six places to No. 8 after losing at UCF, opening room for Georgia and Indiana to return as projected top-four seeds.
Miami holds the projected No. 1 seed, with Ohio State second, Georgia third and Indiana fourth. Under the playoff format, the five highest-ranked conference champions earn automatic spots and the next seven highest-ranked teams fill out the bracket.
The SEC would place four teams in a bracket built from the current poll, the most of any league. Georgia is the top-ranked SEC team for a third straight week, and the conference has nine teams in the Top 25, more than any other league; the Big 12 is next with six.
The road ahead is stacked. Georgia, coming off its open date, faces No. 17 Florida in Atlanta on Halloween, and a loss would give the Bulldogs back-to-back defeats for the first time since 2018. November brings a trip to No. 12 Ole Miss and a home game against No. 23 Missouri.
The projections are only a snapshot until the selection committee releases its first official rankings on Nov. 3. Opening-round playoff games come Dec. 18-19, and the national championship will be decided Jan. 25 in Las Vegas, at Allegiant Stadium.
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