UGA moves to No. 3 in BCS standings, within reach of national-title game
The scores from Eugene, Ore., and Waco, Texas, reverberated loudly across this state, seemingly putting the Georgia Bulldogs two victories away from playing for college football’s national championship.
Saturday night’s losses by previously No. 1 Kansas State (to Baylor) and previously No. 2 Oregon (to Stanford) triggered a celebration among Georgia fans and a shakeup of the Bowl Championship Series pecking order. In the latest BCS standings, released Sunday night, Notre Dame moved to No. 1, Alabama to No. 2 and Georgia to No. 3.
That means, BCS analysts agreed, that if Georgia beats Georgia Tech and Alabama beats Auburn this week, then the winner of the Dec. 1 SEC Championship game between the Bulldogs and the Crimson Tide would play for the national title.
The top two teams in the final BCS standings, to be released Dec. 2, earn berths in the title game, which will be played Jan. 7 in Miami. Georgia has not played for a national championship in the BCS era and last won the title in the 1980 season.
The losses by Kansas State and Oregon came just one week after Alabama’s loss to Texas A&M seemingly left the SEC at serious risk of not putting a team in this season’s BCS title game. Last week, Alabama and Georgia were Nos. 4 and 5 in the standings, behind three undefeated teams. That meant the league with six consecutive national championships could get back to the title game only if two of the three unbeaten teams ahead of Alabama and Georgia lost a game.
And on one chaotic night, two of the three did just that.
“Thank you Baylor, thank you Stanford,” Georgia cornerback Sanders Commings reacted via Twitter.
“We control our own destiny,” UGA linebacker Christian Robinson tweeted.
The turn of events raised the stakes for Georgia’s regular-season finale against Georgia Tech. The rivals will play at noon Saturday in Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs (10-1, 7-1 SEC) would be knocked out of the national-title picture by a loss to the Yellow Jackets (6-5, 5-3 ACC).
On his weekly teleconference with reporters Sunday night, Georgia coach Mark Richt was asked a half-dozen questions about the BCS picture. Each time, he responded by talking about the game against Tech.
Richt wouldn’t even say whether he watched the Oregon-Stanford and/or Kansas State-Baylor games.
“You know what? I was thinking about Tech that night, all night, knowing what a big game it is,” he said.
Alabama is in a similar situation this week, also facing its in-state rival. But while Georgia has clinched the SEC East’s berth for the league title game at the Georgia Dome, Alabama (10-1, 6-1 SEC) must beat Auburn (3-8, 0-7) to represent the Western Divison there.
The SEC, of course, wasn’t the only beneficiary of Kansas State’s 52-24 loss to Baylor and Oregon’s 17-14 overtime loss to Stanford.
Notre Dame (11-0) moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the BCS standings and can assure itself a spot in the national-title game by winning its regular-season finale at USC.
Brad Edwards, ESPN’s BCS analyst, expressed confidence after Saturday’s results that the SEC Championship game winner would get the other berth, provided Georgia beats Tech and Alabama beats Auburn. Fellow analysts Mark May, Lou Holtz and Kirk Herbstreit agreed.
Of course, there could be complications that again scramble the picture, such as a loss by Notre Dame, Alabama or Georgia this week.
If Notre Dame loses, there would be no unbeaten team left in the national-championship mix, and there surely would be an intense debate about who should play the SEC champion in Miami. In that case, another SEC team — Florida, which is No. 4 in this week’s standings — could be next in line if it wins its regular-season finale against Florida State.
Oregon is No. 5, Kansas State No. 6 and LSU No. 7 in this week’s standings.
The BCS standings include three components that count one-third each: the USA Today poll of current coaches; the Harris Interactive poll of former coaches, administrators and players and current and former media members; and an average of six computer polls. Notre Dame is No. 1 in all three components this week.
Georgia is No. 3 in the USA Today poll (up from No. 4 last week), No. 3 in the Harris poll (up from No. 5) and No. 6 in the computers (same as last week). Alabama is No. 2 in the USA Today and Harris polls and No. 3 in the computers.
The Associated Press poll, which is not part of the BCS formula, also has Notre Dame No. 1, Alabama No. 2 and Georgia No. 3 this week.
– Tim Tucker, AJC
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367 comments Add your comment
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:42 pm
Before I go……Ole Miss almost upset LSU this weekend…….and Georgia demolished Ole Miss. Now….good night.
Auburn almost upset LSU also. You may notice a trend here.
Steve
November 18th, 2012
9:42 pm
CHDawg, sad huh? What’s funny is this is a UGA blog and they like to come on here and make stuff up. They are very jealous people. Always have been, always will be.
Steve
November 18th, 2012
9:44 pm
The most jealous of all are GTBob and that “Put In Timeout” loser who thinks he is cute by having a really long name. Maybe those two should get together sometime for a little TLC.
RJ
November 18th, 2012
9:45 pm
GT bob you must really enjoy spilling all your statistics on the blog to continually jab at your intended audience. If Tech bets Georgia I will give them the credit they will deserve minus the italized sarcastic remarks you have become well known for. I personally could care less what you think although from time to time you could be more relevant if you were not so bent on simply trying to shout out your dark dislike for Georgia. Btw very few fans would want to see a rematch between Florida and Georgia, if the Dawgs are fortunate to best both Tech and Bama I would like to see Georgia vs Notre Dame.
CHDawg
November 18th, 2012
9:45 pm
I went over to a Tech article and there weren’t many haters (of Tech) at all. ?????!
Rick James
November 18th, 2012
9:45 pm
@Steve
Georgia is number 3 in the BCS and 10-1 Tech is 68th in BCS and 6-5..It’s more fun for Tech fans to rib Georgia fans than to talk about Tech football..
Steve
November 18th, 2012
9:48 pm
RJ, I agree. Would hate to see Florida again and would love to see UGA play Notre Dame. If Tech beat UGA, which we know won’t happen, I would give them credit also. GTBob’s problem is that he is not man enough to do something like that. Like I said, if we beat Bama, he will say Bama was overrated and lost at home to A&M yet if Bama beats UGA, he will simply say “I told you UGA was overrated.” Can’t win when it comes to the uneducated.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:48 pm
Nope, no offense at all!
SEC Offensive Ranks:
Texas A&M: 5
Tenn: 23
UGA: 25
Bama: 44
Ole Miss: 53
Arkansas: 55
Miss St: 69
LSU: 69
Vandy: 80
SC: 94
Missouri: 101
Florida 106
Auburn: 115
Kentucky: 118
What a powerhouse offensive conference. UGA was even lucky enough to play the 6 worst offenses in the league. All ranked 80 or below.
BobDawg
November 18th, 2012
9:49 pm
TAMPA G. – That would be wild playing you guys in Miami…. Cocktail Party Round #2!!!!
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:51 pm
Can’t win when it comes to the uneducated.
Yes, my education pales in comparison to a quality UGA education. lol.
@ GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:53 pm
A trend? Definitely not. Just random wins and loses, as usual. At the end of the day these are college kids playing a game. BAMA lost to Texas A&M, who lost to LSU and FL. LSU almost lost to Auburn, who hasn’t beat ANYONE in the Conference. But then LSU almost beats BAMA. UGA gets blown out by SC, but beats FL. A FL team who had beaten Texas A&M, LSU, and blown SC away. THERE IS NO TREND!!! Bottom Line – College Football is, and always will be, unpredictable. Oregon lost to Stanford, Kansas State got blown out by Baylor. UNPREDICTABLE. That’s why we play the games. All this will be settled in the Dome on Dec 1. At least UGA has a chance to play for a Chamionship.
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
9:53 pm
I am liking the attitude that I am sensing from Mark Richt and the players at Georgia. Everytime one of them is asked the big question, chance at BCS Title game, they all say the same thing:
“We need to take care of one game at a time, etc.”
I like it! We have to beat a very good Georgia Tech team first. Them we can talk aout the SEC Championship game and BAMA!
Guys, WE ARE IN A GREAT POSITION; we control our own destiny.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:54 pm
Georgia is number 3 in the BCS and 10-1 Tech is 68th in BCS and 6-5..It’s more fun for Tech fans to rib Georgia fans than to talk about Tech football..
Again, you have beaten one good team this season. A team that almost lost to La-Lafayette. Congratulations.
Troup Co. Dawg
November 18th, 2012
9:54 pm
We run this state Bugs….I know y’all can’t help it that you’re surrounded by Thugs! Athens is the greatest College town on earth and y’all are just jealous because we get a BCS birth! Haha! It’s great to be a Georgia Bulldog!!!! Dawgs gonna treat ya like Ga Southern!!
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
9:55 pm
“Nope, no offense at all!”–GT Bob
GT Bob, I respect your Jackets, but Defense WINS football games.
Mora less Petrino
November 18th, 2012
9:56 pm
UCLA vs USC, Mora vs Kiffin; Should that matchup be called the DA Bowl?
davidinloganville
November 18th, 2012
9:56 pm
all the talk about Miami turning down the acc coastal spot in the acc championship game is not the question, the question is will tech turn down a bowl game after getting run off the field by Georgia and Fla St to finish at 6-7?
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:56 pm
GT Bob, I respect your Jackets, but Defense WINS football games.
That is true in the SEC because defense is all that is played.
Dee Dee
November 18th, 2012
9:58 pm
GTBob: Aaron Murray is currently the number one rated passer in the country (based on objective data–look it up). Pretty sure you have to generate a little offense for your team to occupy that spot….
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
9:59 pm
the question is will tech turn down a bowl game after getting run off the field by Georgia and Fla St to finish at 6-7?
Why in the world would we turn down money for the conference and extra practice time?
Liking attitude?
November 18th, 2012
10:00 pm
I’m not liking all the players tweeting what they really feel after giving the expected answer in interviews. They shouldn’t be acting like a bunch of kids who never won anything. You don’t see notre dame… Bama players doing such things.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:00 pm
Pretty sure you have to generate a little offense for your team to occupy that spot….
Murray puts up great numbers against terrible teams. When he plays a decent team, he completely folds.
Beast from the East
November 18th, 2012
10:01 pm
GTBob,
Sorry, kid, but ALMOST never makes it in the win/loss record. UF is severely flawed offensively, but they have enough defense and special teams to overcome it. I know those two areas a foreign to a Tech fan, but they get the job done when it matters. Try watching a game or two. Better yet, get Johnson to watch for some pointers.
davidinloganville
November 18th, 2012
10:02 pm
you lose money if you go top the tire bowl you don’t make money in bottom level bowls but you do need all the practice you can get.
Preston
November 18th, 2012
10:02 pm
If UGA beats Bammer, they deserve to play for it all!
GTBOBjr
November 18th, 2012
10:03 pm
Bama will crush Georgia , Not Man enough !!!!!! 37-13 !
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
10:03 pm
“That is true in the SEC because defense is all that is played.”–GTBob
GT Bob, it is true in ALL conferences and all levels of football: high school, college, professional.
DEFENSE wins football games… plain and simple.
still a dawg fan
November 18th, 2012
10:03 pm
DOWN GOES OREGON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:04 pm
Try watching a game or two. Better yet, get Johnson to watch for some pointers.
He probably could get some defensive pointers. Offensively, he probably won’t be able to stop laughing.
Defense IS the key.
November 18th, 2012
10:05 pm
Obviously that’s what it takes to win a National Championship. SIX IN A ROW.
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
10:06 pm
“Murray puts up great numbers against terrible teams. When he plays a decent team, he completely folds.”–GT Bob
How did Aaron Murray do against GEORGIA TECH last year, GT Bob???
wreckmaniac
November 18th, 2012
10:06 pm
Good grief. UGA did play in the Papa John’s bowl 3 years ago, right.
What greater humiliation can there possible be ?
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:07 pm
DEFENSE wins football games… plain and simple.
I am pretty sure I have seen a few games where offense won the game.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:09 pm
How did Aaron Murray do against GEORGIA TECH last year, GT Bob???
Passing well against GT isn’t exactly a high measure of success.
Beast from the East
November 18th, 2012
10:09 pm
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:07 pm
DEFENSE wins football games… plain and simple.
I am pretty sure I have seen a few games where offense won the game.
—————–
Sure you have if you watch the ACC. No one should ever win a game when giving up 50 points. Only in the Almost College Conference.
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
10:10 pm
“I am pretty sure I have seen a few games where offense won the game.”–GT Bob
All I said is DEFENSE wins football games.
I wasn’t dumb enough to downplay OFFENSE.
You are the one downplaying DEFENSE.
Come back in OFF the ledge, GT Bob. We can all play together.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:11 pm
Sure you have if you watch the ACC. No one should ever win a game when giving up 50 points. Only in the Almost College Conference.
UGA won a game giving up 44. Huge difference huh?
@ GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:11 pm
And you have also seen six National Titles won by SEC Defenses. That cannot be disputed.
Let’s just put it this way. . .Offense wins games, Defense wins Championships.
Matthew
November 18th, 2012
10:13 pm
What a joke! Who has Georgia beaten other than Florida? Alabama is going to blast them!
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:13 pm
You are the one downplaying DEFENSE.
Im not downplaying defense at all. I am just saying that SEC defenses are a little overrated because there is no offense being played.
Beachdawg
November 18th, 2012
10:14 pm
@wreckmaniac….”what greater humiliation can there “possible” be”? Being an illiterate “skolar” from Tech.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:14 pm
I’m sorry guys. I just wish so bad that my yellow jackets could actually do something and win like UGA does. I try to come up with negative things about UGA to make myself feel better. I know we will lose this weekend and I hope UGA wins it all! Also, if you happen to know the best place to meet a guy or twwo for some fun, please let me know.
Preston
November 18th, 2012
10:14 pm
We shall see GTB. That’s why they play the games. Who would’ve thought that K State would get throttled by a terrible Baylor squad? Anything can happen and UGA’s getting better every week. I like our chances! I would LOVE to see ND get beat down by SoCal this week instead of getting to play for the title without having to play a great team in a CCG. But that’s ND for you. Too good to join a conference so they half ass join the weak ACC in football. That’s OK though. If we beat Bama, we can beat any of those guys!
GameTime
November 18th, 2012
10:15 pm
Amazing to me that a team that has played such a weak schedule could be playing in the BCS Championship Game. Only win of any substance has been over a highly overrated UF team. Didn’t play Alabama, LSU, or Texas A&M.Shows how weak the SEC is this year to have UGA 3rd and UF 4th in the BCS poll. Dawgs better be glad there is no playoff in place yet. There are half a dozen teams better than the dawns who are more deserving of a chance. But then again if they beat Bama maybe they deserve an opportunity to play another overrated team – Notre Dame. What a year for mediocrity at the top. If the dawgs don’t make it this year then its going to be a long wait.
USMC DAWG
November 18th, 2012
10:15 pm
“Murray puts up great numbers against TERRIBLE TEAMS. When he plays a decent team, he completely folds.”–GT Bob
Then I say: “How did Aaron Murray do against GEORGIA TECH last year, GT Bob???”
Then GT Bob says: “Passing well against GEORGIA TECH isn’t exactly a high measure of success.”
I rest my case Your Honor! LOL!
GT Bob, You are basically saying GT is a TERRIBLE TEAM. I actually like Tech except that one day every year.
Lighten up, FRANCES(GTBOB)!
Fair n Balanced
November 18th, 2012
10:15 pm
Beat Tech.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:16 pm
And you have also seen six National Titles won by SEC Defenses. That cannot be disputed.
I can pretty easily dispute that Auburn won their NC because of their amazing defense.
GTBob
November 18th, 2012
10:17 pm
GT Bob, You are basically saying GT is a TERRIBLE TEAM. I actually like Tech except that one day every year.
Overall Tech is a pretty bad team. In regards to passing defense, Tech might be the worst team in the country.
@ Matthew
November 18th, 2012
10:17 pm
Who has Alabama beaten other than LSU (barely)? Miss St? – EXPOSED. Texas A&M? Nope. . .lost that one. We will see on Dec 1st. Do your research before you post ignorant comments. Georgia and Alabama play 5 of the same teams – Mizzou, Tenn, Auburn, FAU, and Ole Miss.
Buzz 2011
November 18th, 2012
10:17 pm
The Dawgs play another ” triple option ” team Saturday.
That team will score more than 14 points. Quite a few
more points. Dogs may need a Herschel not a Gurley…