Ranking every College Football Playoff team in history

SANTA CLARA, CA - JANUARY 07: Adam Choice #26 and Trevor Lawrence #16 of the Clemson Tigers celebrate with the trophy after their teams 44-16 win over the Alabama Crimson Tide in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Levi's Stadium on January 7, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

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ATLANTA, GA – JANUARY 08: Georgia Bulldogs running back Sony Michel (1) runs with the football during the College Football Playoff National Championship Game between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Georgia Bulldogs on January 8, 2018 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, GA. (Photo by Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

8. Georgia Bulldogs – 2018

National Runners-up — Lost to Alabama, 26-23

Every Georgia Bulldogs fan who made it this far in these rankings is probably cringing being reminded of what could have been with the 2017-18 team and in the College Football Playoff. They had everything that they needed to and, for three quarters essentially, did everything that they needed to do so that they could capture a win in the National Championship Game. Of course, all that really matters is the final score.

Many wondered if freshman quarterback Jake Fromm and the Georgia offense could hold their own against Alabama and their vaunted defense in the title game and they quickly proved that they could. The Bulldogs built up a 20-7 lead and even forced Nick Saban to make a change at quarterback, benching Jalen Hurts in favor of Tua Tagovailoa.

That switch, however, was ultimately what doomed the Dawgs in the title game. The Georgia defense was one of the most talented units that the team has seen in quite some time out of Athens and they were ready to completely shut down Hurts, which they did. However, Kirby Smart and his team weren’t ready for the unknown and highly talented commodity in Tagovailoa, who led the Tide into overtime and the win.

Just looking at talent and how close they were, you could probably put this Georgia team a bit higher. However, with the way that one adjustment killed them, it’s also impossible not to penalize them a little bit for that. That’s what we do here as they come in at the eighth spot.

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