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Updated College Football Playoff rankings: Does Georgia routing LSU affect Alabama?

By Cody Williams

Georgia defensive back Christopher Smith (29) celebrates with Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) while returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown during the first half of the SEC Championship NCAA college football game between LSU and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022.News Joshua L Jones
Georgia defensive back Christopher Smith (29) celebrates with Georgia defensive back Malaki Starks (24) while returning a blocked field goal for a touchdown during the first half of the SEC Championship NCAA college football game between LSU and Georgia in Atlanta, on Saturday, Dec. 3, 2022.News Joshua L Jones /
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Georgia took LSU to the woodshed in the SEC Championship Game, but does that have any effect on Alabama in the College Football Playoff rankings?

Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs came into the SEC Championship Game as the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff rankings. But after some pedestrian showings, many wondered if they would be able to flip the switch and make a statement against LSU.

While I’m not sure why anyone doubted Georgia’s ability to do that given their performances against Oregon and Tennessee, the Dawgs still showed they have an extra gear they hit just about whenever they feel like it as they jumped all over LSU to capture to the program’s first SEC Championship since 2017.

The final score was a 50-30 drubbing in which the Tigers added a late score with the game well out of reach. And now Georgia is heading to the College Football Playoff as the top seed to defend its national championship. But the big question some fans will have about the rankings is if that result has any effect on a team trying to use conference championship chaos to climb into the Top 4: the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Updated College Football Playoff rankings after Georgia routs LSU to win the SEC: What does it mean for Alabama?

  1. Georgia Bulldogs
  2. Michigan Wolverines (Still to play vs. Purdue)
  3. TCU Horned Frogs
  4. Ohio State Buckeyes
  5. Alabama Crimson Tide
  6. USC Trojans
  7. Tennessee Volunteers
  8. Kansas State Wildcats
  9. Penn State Nittany Lions
  10. Clemson Tigers (Still to play vs. North Carolina)

One thing that’s for certain about Georgia’s dominant win in Atlanta is that the Bulldogs locked up the No. 1 spot. If the selection committee wasn’t going to have Michigan jump the Dawgs after last week, they surely aren’t going to make it happen after Kirby Smart’s team just hung a 50-burger on LSU.

But the bigger question in the College Football Playoff landscape is what this result could mean for Alabama as Crimson Tide fans are hoping that TCU and USC losing could push them up from No. 6 into the Playoff.

In all honesty, though, this was a bad result for the Crimson Tide. While they undoubtedly needed LSU to lose one of its final two games. However, losing to lowly Texas A&M and then getting worked by Georgia is bad news for Nick Saban’s team. That’s going to drop LSU even further in the rankings, which will make one of Alabama’s losses look even worse.

For my money, I’ve stated that TCU just has a better resumé point blank than Bama. After LSU’s loss in the SEC Championship Game, that case only looks stronger.

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