ESPN outlines Georgia’s path to College Football Playoffs in 2024
Georgia made back to back appearances in the College Football Playoffs in 2021 and 2022, but the Bulldogs were left on the outside looking in for 2023. Falling to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, Kirby Smart’s 12-1 squad was summoned to the Orange Bowl instead, impressing in their final outing of the season against Florida State with a 63-3 win.
Many were left wondering what could’ve been had UGA been in the field of four. That, we’ll never know. However, Georgia should have as good of a chance as any to make a return trip to the Playoffs in 2024 – especially considering the expansion to 12 teams. ESPN recently detailed the Dawgs’ path to the Playoffs.
For Georgia, according to Heather Dinich, it all starts with how the Bulldogs play away from home. UGA’s biggest games in 2024 look like they’ll take place outside of Sanford Stadium with road trips to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss on the docket. Add in a pair of neutral site contests as well against Clemson and Florida, and that’s an understandable point made.
“How to impress the committee: win outside of Athens,” Dinich wrote. “Georgia has four true road games and two neutral site games (Aug. 31 vs. Clemson and Nov. 2 vs. Florida). The Bulldogs can earn some major respect in the committee meeting room if they beat Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas — likely all ranked opponents — on the road.”
How is this different in the new-era of College Football? Well, Georgia can all but certainly afford to lose one of those and still get in. There’s a chance that even a two-loss UGA squad is in the field of 12 given the strength of schedule. However, as is pointed out, winning the SEC will be important to avoid a 17-game season and best position the Bulldogs to avoid having to play their toughest opponents multiple times – potentially even three.
“How the path will be different in the 12-team field? The CFP seeding will impact the SEC runner-up. There will still be a ton of pressure to win the SEC because the loser of the conference championship could wind up as the No. 5 seed — even if it is a top-four team on Selection Day,” Dinich continued. “That means Georgia would have to win four straight postseason games (and play a total of 17) to win the national title. It’s also possible that Georgia plays the same SEC opponent three times — once during the regular season, again in the conference title game and again in the CFP bracket — because the SEC eliminated divisions, and the bracket allows for the possibility.”
Georgia is considered by most to be the No. 1 team in the country coming into 2024, listed in the top spot for all sorts of “Way Too Early” polls. Claiming another championship won’t come easy though as UGA takes on a tough schedule featuring road games at Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss – all three of whom are likely to be top-10 teams – and other matchups with the likes of Clemson and Tennessee, plus rivals Florida, Auburn and Georgia Tech. Rounding out the power conference opponents Georgia plays are Kentucky and Mississippi State while Tennessee Tech and UMass are also on the schedule.
The Bulldogs do have the nation’s highest over/under win total, set at 10.5, and the best odds to take home the title, currently sitting at +300 according to FanDuel. Quarterback Carson Beck is tied for the top spot in early Heisman Trophy betting with Texas’ Quinn Ewers.
Beck threw for the third most yards in the country last season and did so with a Georgia school record completion percentage. He’ll have the help of returnees like Dominic Lovett, Dillon Bell, Oscar Delp and Rara Thomas behind an offensive line that features four players that started at least nine games. Then there’s the newcomers: Florida running back Trevor Etienne, Miami wide receiver Colbie Young, Vanderbilt wide receiver London Humphreys, USC wide receiver Michael Jackson III and Stanford tight end Benjamin Yurosek. The five transfer on offense make up the majority of a seven-player transfer class – so far.
On defense, Malaki Starks is a returning All-American, and others including Smael Mondon, Mykel Williams and CJ Allen have that kind of potential. Featuring several former five-stars, plenty of other talented players and a fair share that have experience too, expecting big things from the Georgia defense once again is understandable.
Georgia is set to begin spring practice in less than two weeks on Tuesday, March 12th. The Bulldogs will conduct a total of 15 sessions including three scrimmages. The final of those on Saturday, April 13th will be open for the public to see in the annual red vs. black G-Day spring game.
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