Just get to Atlanta in December and good things may follow soon after.
While the Penn State Nittany Lions are a good bet to be the team to reach the College Football Playoff for the first time this season, the best bet is the Florida Gators of the SEC. They have a favorable schedule with the LSU Tigers at home and a non-quite there Tennessee Volunteers team on the road. Their biggest challenger is rival Georgia.
For the last five years, whoever wins the neutral-site affair between Florida and the Georgia Bulldogs has represented the SEC East in the conference title bout. Florida won in Jacksonville back in 2015 and 2016 under former head coach Jim McElwain. Kirby Smart’s team has won the last three years in Duval County, winning the SEC Championship and making the playoff in 2017.
Of course, whoever wins the Georgia/Florida game will have a tough challenger coming out of the SEC West to deal with in Atlanta. What has been interesting is it has been a different opponent for the Dawgs to take on each time. While they beat the Auburn Tigers in 2017, they lost a heart-breaker to the Alabama Crimson Tide in 2018 and got boat raced by the LSU Tigers last December.
As with Penn State needing to beat the Ohio State Buckeyes to clear a pathway towards the playoff, it’s more likely Florida knocks off Georgia this year than Penn State does Ohio State, even if it’s in Happy Valley. Florida can beat Georgia, win the SEC East, but lose to someone like Alabama, Auburn or LSU just as easily. However, Dan Mullen’s team should make the playoff soon.
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