Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs should be pissed off heading into Week 12 vs Tennessee

Kirby Smart and his Georgia Bulldogs should show up Saturday with a fire lit underneath their bottoms after the latest College Football Playoff rankings snubbed them. Georgia dropped to No. 12 on Tuesday night and is the first top-ranked team to fall out of the 12-team playoff bracket. The Bulldogs are 7-2 and have played […]

Kelsey Kramer — College Football & NFL Trending News Writer

Nov 12, 2024 11:59 PM EST

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts during warm ups prior to the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. — Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Kirby Smart and his Georgia Bulldogs should show up Saturday with a fire lit underneath their bottoms after the latest College Football Playoff rankings snubbed them.

Georgia dropped to No. 12 on Tuesday night and is the first top-ranked team to fall out of the 12-team playoff bracket.

November 1️⃣2️⃣ #CFBPlayoff Selection Committee Rankings ??

1️⃣2️⃣. Georgia // @GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/Airn5QYs0N
— College Football Playoff (@CFBPlayoff) November 13, 2024

The Bulldogs are 7-2 and have played the toughest schedule in the SEC, so it really doesn't make sense, but it certainly makes Saturday's matchup against the Tennessee Volunteers that much more personal.

However, head coach Kirby Smart had previously said ahead of the Ole Miss game that he is never too worried about the rankings and is always thinking outside the box.

"You don't look a little further down," Smart said. "You would look at 12 last year and figure out does the 12th team have a shot to get to the fourth? What's got to happen for those teams to lose? Now you're looking at 20, 21, 22, you know, the automatic qualifier – who's got the best shot? How are they going to perceive these teams and what's going to change the perception? That's all the talk out there. I couldn't care less because what is a quality win and a quality loss right now, they've been known to change their mind before it comes time. We've probably been a casualty of that probably more than anybody in the country. So, I don't put a lot of stake in it."

Regardless of whether or not Smart and his Dawgs take these new rankings with a grain of salt, one can expect them to be at least a little pissed off when they face the Vols this Saturday at home Between the Hedges.