Here’s how Georgia can get to BCS game (step by step) (UPDATED)
Will Georgia players and fans have something to celebrate with a BCS title berth? (AP photo)
(Video added below)
It wasn’t long after Georgia’s win over Florida when I received a few emails and messages on Twitter asking whether the Bulldogs could make it to the BCS championship game. So while this certainly qualifies as putting the cart before the horse – or the crystal trophy before even the SEC East – here’s an outline of what has to happen for the Dogs to get to this year’s BCS title game in Miami on Jan. 7.
1. No. 6 Georgia needs to win its final four regular season games: Mississippi (home), at Auburn (which potentially clinches the East), Georgia Southern (home) and Georgia Tech (home). The Dogs will be favored in all four. They are 14-to-17½-point favorites over Mississippi. Georgia also can’t afford to look unimpressive in the wins because there is a chance that voters in the two polls used in the BCS equation drop them in the rankings.
2. No. 1 Alabama likely needs to beat No. 5 LSU. The reason for that is if Georgia and LSU both win out, LSU is staying ahead of Georgia but there’s no guarantee that Alabama would drop behind the Dogs if they lose this Saturday to the Tigers. So Georgia’s only assurance of passing one of the two (LSU) is an Alabama win.
3. Two of the following three schools need to lose a game: No. 2 Kansas State and/or No. 3 Notre Dame and/or No. 4 Oregon. Let’s break this down by school:
• Kansas State doesn’t get much love because it plays in what remains of the Big 12. But the Wildcats are coming off impressive wins over West Virginia (55-14) and Tech Tech (55-24). They have their two toughest remaining opponents at home – Oklahoma State this week and Texas in the final week – as well as TCU and Baylor on the road. Kansas State’s biggest break: There is no Big 12 championship game anymore — the conference has only 10 schools, two under the minimum, after the defections of Nebraska and Colorado. So it can just sit back and watch the others play, except for …
• Notre Dame also will not play in a conference championship game as a result of being independent. Bu the Irish still must play at USC in the final week. (So Georgia fans could be in the position of rooting for Lane Kiffin.) Notre Dame’s other three games: Pittsburgh (home), at Boston College and Wake Forest (home).
• Oregon has by far the most difficult remaining schedule, playing three ranked teams – at USC (No. 17 BCS) this week, home against Stanford (14) Nov. 17 and at rival Oregon State (11) in the final game. The Ducks also play at home against Cal.
4. If all of that happens, the Dogs can finish as one of BCS’s top two teams if they accomplish just one more thing: defeat Alabama in the SEC championship game. In other words, they would have to beat the nation’s best team for the conference title just for a chance to play for the opportunity to be the best team for the national title.
That would be the most difficult win of all.
So anybody want to put some odds on this?
By Jeff Schultz
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511 comments Add your comment
War Mongrel
October 29th, 2012
12:53 pm
Brent and Herbie said yall suck…the entire nation heard and saw it…Florida should not have been #2, and even then, they had to play poorly for Georgia to beat them…good luck in the Gator/Outback/Capitol One/ Chick-fil-a bowl…
Sammy
October 29th, 2012
12:54 pm
No one has repeated in the SEC as National Champs since 1979 Bear Bryant. That was 33 years ago.
It happens every 33 years. And Saban’s no Bear Bryant.
Saban has a 3% chance of repeating, 97% chance of NOT repeating.
How do you like them odds? 3%?
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
12:54 pm
The Dogs could beat notre dame or kansas state—those teams are overrated and have easy schedules.
Oh come on. UGA plays a much easier schedule then Notre Dame or Kansas State.
ARdawg
October 29th, 2012
12:55 pm
GTBob
Your head is squarely up inside your rectamus if you think otherwise. LSU went with 2 losses
War Mongrel
October 29th, 2012
12:57 pm
Georgia ain’t LSU…not even close as a program…
Johnny Vaught
October 29th, 2012
12:58 pm
UGA man here. UGA better be ready to play some wide open offense by ole miss, or we could be very sorry with our season up in smoke and then playing for a chance to go to shreveport again.
Ole Miss will come in looking to knock UGA off. count on it !!
Go dogs.
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
October 29th, 2012
12:58 pm
kingdaddy
UGA isnt playing a national title; I mean people how many times do we have come on these blogs talking about this is the year garbage
Seriously
UGA isnt beating bama unless bama plays like FL and even then being as close as it was Sat Saban will do just enough to out coach our coaches
2 I dont see Oregon ND K-St losing out to those cream puff teams but say they do we still will get outcoached by bama
FrankenSTORM
October 29th, 2012
12:59 pm
That’s why Georgia beat Florida and LSU lost to Florida.
TIM BUCK
October 29th, 2012
1:00 pm
I like the Dawgs, but Georgia is not that good! Florida was WAY overrated and the Tide will beat the Dawgs like a rented mule…TWICE. For all you “BAMA HADN’T PLAY NOBODY” Miss St. would match up real good against Georgia or Florida……….DAWG FANS ARE IN FOR ANOTHER REAL DISAPPOINTMENT.
JDW
October 29th, 2012
1:02 pm
Probably best to focus on Ole Miss…but my guess is that if a 1 loss GA beats AL in the SEC Championship game it really doesn’t matter what the other teams do. The SEC Champion will get a spot.
kingdaddy
October 29th, 2012
1:02 pm
I’ll bet lil stevie is crying inside right now. That’s what he gets for being such a smug, snarky ba$tard. I just can’t feel sorry for the danged ol ball coach…
FrankenSTORM
October 29th, 2012
1:03 pm
Bama and Mississippi State both play weak schedules.
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
October 29th, 2012
1:03 pm
GT Bob
I disagree ND played who
Stanford BY-who LOL come on yea UGA schedule is soft thanks to Tech being on it
but ND is a joke too
GTBob
October 29th, 2012
1:04 pm
Your head is squarely up inside your rectamus if you think otherwise. LSU went with 2 losses
Yeah, and the only reason they went was because West Virginia and Missouri both lost in the final week making LSU part of a large group of 2 win teams. When the records are equal, the SEC will get picked. They won’t get picked over major teams with better records.
ARdawg
October 29th, 2012
1:06 pm
I harbor no hopes that Georgia will get a shot at a NC. We don’t even deserve it after the thumping in Columbia. Stars do not align to Georgia for that to happen. Destiny to get to SECCG and destiny to play for a NC are two distinct and different things.
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
October 29th, 2012
1:06 pm
Be HONEST…………………….Is there a UGa fan that thinks 35:55minute/PMS/non-Big Game MURRAY can win a National Championship?
He is NOT Buck BLEW handing the ball to HERSHEL.
Joey
October 29th, 2012
1:07 pm
“Werent you all surprised that UGA moved up this far after FL game?”
***************************************
No – 4 teams ahead of UGA lost Saturday – UF, OK, USC, Oregon St.
Just the Facts
October 29th, 2012
1:08 pm
Florida was definitely overrated after being given the SC game on a platter and beating an LSU team with a worse offense than UGA. But we won and it just goes to show that we’re better than Florida. SC choked against LSU and Florida, so they get to sit on the sideline with their mascot in their hand. Best wishes for Lattimore by the way. It’s hard to say we have much of a chance against Bama the way they’ve been playing, but anything is possible in college football. Besides, we still need to beat Ole Miss and if we have a bad game we’ll lose. By the way, your program is only as good as it’s current season. Just ask Arkansas and Auburn. So, right now LSU isn’t anywhere close to where they were last season. I’d say LSU and UGA are very similar right now.
wallydawg
October 29th, 2012
1:08 pm
Wow… Some of you guys need to lighten up. Of course all this just pie in the sky. Of course we can’t look past Ole Miss or anyone. And of course if we do make it to the SECCG (still a big “if”) we would be huge underdogs.But it’s not impossible. Everyone who says we can’t be Bama also said there was no way we could beat Florida. But it happened. This is what’s fun about being a fan… Dreaming about winning it all. It’s not likely, but it’s possible. Me? I’d say 100-1. I can’t believe GTBob gave us better odds. See? Anything’s possible!
He Hate Gator
October 29th, 2012
1:08 pm
Sammy, instead of worrying about Alabama, better focus instead on Ole Miss…
He Hate Gator
October 29th, 2012
1:09 pm
There should be no talk about Alabama on this blog. Ole Miss only…focus, focus, focus….
observer
October 29th, 2012
1:10 pm
Its all an ilusion for UGA. This season UGA will have played 2 good teams. Got taken to the cleaners by the 1st one, needed 6 TO to squeak by the 2nd one. Anything is possible, but at this point in the season, I don’t see any logical reason for thinking that UGA will beat Bama at the SECCG.
The argument that odds are against Bama winning the NC because its never happened twice for an SEC team is like saying AU will beat UGA because AU has never had such a bad season and are due to win one. The stats are created by the game on the field, not the other way around.
Another point, all this talk about the SEC and credibilty is also an ilusion. Only Bama, LSU and UF have that “aura”. Case and point, UF has gone to the MNC game with 2 loses, last year Bama goes w/o winning the SEC, LSU has gone with 2 losses. AU goes undefeated in 04 we all know what happened. I doubt if Bama or LSU go undefeated they get shut out. A team in the SEC that is 7-0 til this past Sat (MsST in case you are wondering) was not even in the top 10. I guarantee you if UF or Bama were 7-0, I don’t care who the played to be 7-0, they are top 3 at least.
kingdaddy
October 29th, 2012
1:11 pm
95
What was your prediction for the UF/UGA game? That’s what I thought. You were dead wrong then, but now you have all this credibility. Who has Bama beaten? Michigan? UNRANKED….Miss St.? Really,please. Just cause you hate the Dawgs doesn’t make you a sage, lol…
TIM BUCK
October 29th, 2012
1:11 pm
THIS article is spot on…..PLEASE read again Georgia fans. It’s the same thing year in and year out. Georgia has a good team with high hopes, but most fans gets delusional during this time of the season. THE DAWGS ARE NOT THAT GOOD AND FLORIDA WILL SHOW THAT.
ARdawg
October 29th, 2012
1:13 pm
GTBOB
They will if they have more BCS points
Thomas Brown
October 29th, 2012
1:13 pm
2007, we had no big win over a team then in the Top 10 while LSU beat 2 teams who made the top 10. I tried to explain that to you in 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011. 5 seasons I’ve tried to explain to you that everyone said LSU beat this top-ranked team and we didn’t have that win in 2007.
2012, we do.
GTBob can go stuff it.
We beat SEC West and we’re in because we have a better win than any but 1 of the just 5 teams ahead of us, 4 after Saturday, and that 1 team who can match our win over a now today # 7 BCS ranked Florida team, is LSU who plays Alabama.
WHO’D YOU BEAT ?
That is ALWAYS # 1 concern in the 2-team BCS play-off. Worthy. Remember Auburn 2004 ? Georgia 2007. Every team from every conference not named SEC 2011 with Alabama’s 2 wins over top 10 teams and LSU 3 wins over teams making the top 10.
Trust me on this. Beat SEC West, and we’re in.
GT Bob knows nothing about football.
DawgFan
October 29th, 2012
1:15 pm
What a pessimistic minded bunch of people. Football is a game that anyone can wn or lose on any given day. If you go into something thinking you will lose – you usually do. No one gave the dawgs ANY chance of beating Florida – yet, what happened? I support my team whether we win or whether we lose.
DawgFan
October 29th, 2012
1:15 pm
What a pessimistic minded bunch of people. Football is a game that anyone can wn or lose on any given day. If you go into something thinking you will lose – you usually do. No one gave the dawgs ANY chance of beating Florida – yet, what happened? I support my team whether we win or whether we lose.
TIM BUCK
October 29th, 2012
1:15 pm
YEA I TOOK THE DAWGS FOR 100.00……STOP THE GATORS RUN AND GAME OVER!
Pass The Kool Aid!
October 29th, 2012
1:15 pm
Same ole Georgia! Go Tech Tech!
ARdawg
October 29th, 2012
1:16 pm
GTBob only knows his jealous hatred of all things Georgia Football
He Hate Gator
October 29th, 2012
1:17 pm
Hey Tech, your AD is running as fast as he can to Clemson…
He Hate Gator
October 29th, 2012
1:17 pm
Hey Tech, your AD is running as fast as he can to Clemson…
Skokie Dog
October 29th, 2012
1:17 pm
To put the answer to this question in perspective, U.Ga.’s chances of reaching the BCS championship game this year are about the same as seeing women from Georgia Tech occupying the top ten slots on Esquire Magazine’s sexiest women list next year. Not. Going. To. Happen.
Jerry (remembers back to Rray Goff era}
October 29th, 2012
1:18 pm
Everybody is down on Aaron Murray but the recievers didn’t help him out alot during the game either….Dawgs take care of business and play two halves of football in the SEC championship against BAMA….should be a good game.
Mike Franklin
October 29th, 2012
1:19 pm
I had a dream that the Dawgs and ND ended up playing again for the national championship … then I woke up and thought how silly that was. The BCS… meaning ESPN and the desk jocks that control college football, would never allow UGA into their bowl contest. Never, ever… even if we were undefeated… even if we were the ONLY undefeated team in the nation.
Yeah, that is hard-core cynicism but since the creation of the BCS and ESPN, there’s not a lot of room for anything else.
Thomas Brown
October 29th, 2012
1:19 pm
Alabama hasn’t beat diddle-e-squat for a team 2012 and of all opponents, wants to play Georgie the least. Out of 63 games, Alabama has 36 wins against us, better than just about any opponent. 38 of the 63 games on the road for us. Not sure why that is; that’s not right. Of the 25 home games, we’ve won all vs Alabama.
Alabama does not have a win over a BCS ranked today # 7 team. If they beat LSU, LSU will drop. If LSU beats Alabama, they are out of the equation, as they have beat NO ONE.
Thomas Brown
October 29th, 2012
1:20 pm
Of the 25 home games, we’ve beat Alabama 11. Not sure where that a came from.
TIM BUCK
October 29th, 2012
1:21 pm
The same clowns on here CRYING about Bama’s schedule this year are the same folks that cried last year when they went to the title game and DESTROYED LSU….remember the LSU team that was the best TEAM ever in the BCS era?????????????Remenber fLAORIDA WAS ONLY A TD favorite over the DAWGS.
Mike
October 29th, 2012
1:22 pm
We was getin our ass beat down by gators to hear everyone say and what happen we can beat bama the same way WHO HAS THE GRWAT BAMA PLAYED THIS YEAR WITH A BEAST DEFENCE so when people say dawgs cant beat bama there full of shi$
He Hate Gator
October 29th, 2012
1:22 pm
Who cares about Alabama? At the moment they are not relevant, only Ole Miss is…
TIM BUCK
October 29th, 2012
1:24 pm
MR. BROWN Bama is destroying teams and ARE taking their foot off the pedal early in the 3rd. friend. I guess the experts shouldn’t have the TIDE #1?? YOU SOUND LIKE A FREAKIN CRYING CHILD that just lost his paci………GO DAWGS ROLL-TIDE
Put in Timeout by Ken Suguira,Filtered by Mark Bradley, Banned by Bill King, Chip Towers & only slightly loved by Jeff Schultz.
October 29th, 2012
1:25 pm
It is a GREAT year for UGa they only play 2 OVERRATED SEC teams this year AND WENT .500 AGAINST THEM…..boy that is a BCS CG game resume.
Bobby Dodd
October 29th, 2012
1:25 pm
since the 1955 days, GT, beyond the 67 0range Bowl and the 09 Orange Bowl (both humiliating defeats) has not even been invited to a BCS type of bowl. The major bowls in that time period up to now are:
rose, cotton, sugar, fiesta, capital one, outback.
Chic Fil A, Music City, Gator, Citrus ( yes, even on 90) are all very mediocre bowls.
GT has not since the mid 50s, been to two major bowls in a row, like UGA this year and last.
GT for example, in 2012 will not be invited to a bowl game.
GT needs to exit the ACC for the Southern Conference with App State and Bill&Mary.
War Mongrel
October 29th, 2012
1:27 pm
I consider it a badge of honor to be banned by Bill King.
kingdaddy
October 29th, 2012
1:28 pm
UGA earned the right to be proud, not to gloat. Speculating about any game that has yet to be played, is merely hypothetical. Guess if you want, but don’t try to blow smoke up everybodies tailpipes by saying something can or can’t happen. Just shows what a know-nothing idiot you are in the eyes of others. How do you know something that hasn’t happened yet? “Well, we just know it”…What we know is that you don’t “know”…
Thomas Brown
October 29th, 2012
1:29 pm
SEC – 1 goes :
# 1 Alabama, lose Sat and out of it
# 5 LSU, lose and gone, win Sat play # 1 LSU vs about 3 or 4 UGA
# 6 Georgia, note this position # 3 of SEC (1 and 2 play Sat)
# 7 Florida, knocked out of it
# 8 South Carolina, out of it
# 15 Mississippi State, out of it
# 16 Texas A and M, out of it 7 of top 16 BCS are SEC, SEC CG winner goes to title game
What the hell does GT Bob know about football ?
They’ve never had a football team.
That’s why he tries to rain on our Parade.
P.O. We won Aaron Murray punched it in 2 times vs FL opening drive and ending drive while our Defense forced 8 strips and picks, keeping 6 of them and gave up not 1 TD.
We played with intensity. Alabama least of all wants to face us. LSU loses to us, they’re out and we’re in. This is the whole entire concept of the SEC Championship Game we INVENTED for JUST THIS PURPOSE.
Then, there is little GT Bob. Ate at a restaurant Saturday and saw a fat kid, mom and dork dad wearing white jersey with gold on it and some silly number. That’s Georgie tek football. That’s what they know, about this.
Patched Tire On I-95 in Jacksonville
October 29th, 2012
1:31 pm
kingdaddy
I said with the talent we have UGA should beat FL by 2 TD’s its our coaches that get in the way
I wasnt suprised by Saturday’s game
I guess you have dipped back into the We are winning the National Title kool-aid jug again
War Mongrel
October 29th, 2012
1:31 pm
Tommy Brown, it doesn’t matter who wins the west, Georgia will be hammered by them. Period.
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