CFP chairman: 'Struggling' offense dropped Georgia out of playoff bracket
College Football Playoff chairman and Big Ten athletic director Warde Manuel addressed the latest CFP rankings Tuesday, explaining that Georgia dropped nine spots - and at least momentarily out of the playoff bracket - because of its recent offensive struggles.
Georgia, ranked at No. 12, suffered its second loss of the season Saturday, a 28-10 defeat to No. 11 Ole Miss. No. 9 Miami lost to unranked Georgia Tech 28-23 over the weekend, but the Hurricanes dropped only five spots in the rankings.
"(The Bulldogs') offense hasn't been consistent, the committee discussed that they've struggled with some turnovers," Manuel said this week, according to DawgNation's Mike Griffith. "Defense has been solid, although in the loss to Ole Miss, we felt that (inconsistent offense) plays a factor into with, the offense struggling, their defense was on the field quite a bit."
Manuel added: "When you look at where they're ranked and how they dropped ... both (No. 10) Alabama and Ole Miss beat them in the head-to-head, so obviously, as we went through the rankings and looked at everyone, they fell to 12, but it's based on who won in front of them and then head-to-head and everything that we look at in terms of the body of work."
The Rebels limited the Bulldogs' offense to 245 total yards, Georgia's lowest mark since 2017. The Bulldogs would be left out of the 12-team playoff bracket despite being ranked at No. 12 because No. 13 Boise State would earn the final seed as the projected fifth conference champion under the new format.
Georgia ranks fourth in the SEC with a 5-2 conference record behind No. 7 Tennessee, No. 15 Texas A&M, and No. 3 Texas, all of which have one SEC loss.
The Bulldogs did beat the Longhorns 30-15 in October.
"Georgia may have one of the best wins of the year by going to Texas and winning the way they did," Manuel said.
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck has thrown 12 interceptions this season, up from six in 2023. Nine of Beck's interceptions came in the last four games for the Bulldogs, who haven't had a 100-yard rusher all year.
Kirby Smart's outfit has another huge SEC matchup coming up, as Tennessee goes to Athens to visit Georgia. The Bulldogs still have a 64% chance of making the playoffs, the 10th-highest in the nation, according to The Athletic.