Georgia Bulldogs fans need to be rooting for surprising set of teams to help lock in College Football Playoff first round bye
The SEC tie-breaker scenarios are looking absolutely wild for the Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart with two weeks to go.
2025 college football regular season is already almost over. The Georgia Bulldogs still have just one loss on the season as they enjoy what is essentially a bye week with a game against Charlotte. They’re going to take care of business this weekend on the field, Georgia fans can rest easy knowing that. So what other games should Bulldogs fans care about that could impact Kirby Smart and company?
Which teams should Georgia fans surprisingly be rooting for this weekend, based on the Bulldogs’ schedule and what they need to lock in a trip to the SEC Championship Game and a first round bye in the College Football Playoff? Let’s take a look.
Florida Gators vs. Tennessee Vols
The SEC Championship Game tie-breakers are always a bit of a mess to keep track of down the stretch. The first one is head-to-head results. That one’s easy. Unfortunately, if Alabama, Georgia, and Ole Miss are all tied at 7-1 in conference play to end the season the tie-breaker will actually likely come down to “conference opponent winning percentage” because Alabama and Ole Miss did not have a head-to-head game. That’s where this game (and others) can help Georgia this weekend.
Alabama and Georgia both played Tennessee, but the Crimson Tide will not play Florida. If the Gators can hold on to beat the Vols (again) at home, then that gives Georgia’s conference opponents a slight boost in win percentage overall. The Bulldogs already own the head-to-head tie-breaker with Ole Miss and the Rebels’ conference schedule has been extremely weak, so there’s virtually no shot they get into the SEC Championship Game if it comes down to this particular tie-breaker.
Texas Longhorns vs. Arkansas Razorbacks
Another crucial game that could help Georgia’s “conference opponent winning percentage” is if the Texas Longhorns beat the Arkansas Razorbacks. Unlike the Tennessee vs. Florida game, this should be absolute chalk expected outcome considering Texas’ emergence in recent weeks (outside of the loss to Georgia). Sports books believe this should be a multiple possession game in favor of the Longhorns, but any SEC game isn’t a “gimme” situation.
Bulldogs fans should be rooting hard for Texas to blow out Arkansas as this not only helps SEC Championship Game tie-breakers, but also further boosts Georgia’s perceived strength of schedule for the College Football Playoff if Bulldogs fans want their team to have a first round bye.
Kentucky Wildcats at Vanderbilt
This last one might be the biggest long shot and one of the least obvious games that could matter to Georgia Bulldogs fans, but it could end up being the most important one. Georgia absolutely obliterated the Kentucky Wildcats, so a win for them over a perceived strong team in Vanderbilt would be a big boost to the Bulldogs’ strength of schedule and record metrics for the College Football Playoff committee.
The other aspect, again, comes down to the SEC Championship Game qualifier. Alabama will not play Kentucky, but they did beat Vanderbilt. Georgia will not play Vanderbilt, but as we already stated, they did beat Kentucky. If the Wildcats win, this completely flips the script for the conference opponent win percentage in favor of Georgia.
Bulldogs fans might not care about the SEC Championship Game very much compared to the national title, but making it to that game and winning it locks in a first round bye, no question. Surprisingly enough, a Kentucky win over Vanderbilt, a team Georgia won’t play this season, might be the most important game that makes that happen.
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