The conventional wisdom suggests the SEC champion will go on to play in the College Football Playoff, with the expectation of the SEC champion being either an undefeated Alabama or one-loss SEC champ. Following a season-ending 38-7 victory on Saturday against Georgia Tech (5-6, 4-4 ACC), No. 7 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 SEC) did their part to make sure they remain in playoff contention with those qualifications in play.
The rushing combo of Sony Michel and Nick Chubb may not have had a blockbuster day on the ground, but it was more than effective with a combined 138 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Michel’s touchdown run was especially smooth in the third quarter to put Georgia up 24-7.
Jake Fromm had a role in the blowout too, of course. Fromm completed 12 of his 16 pass attempts for 224 yards and two touchdowns, and he even picked up some rushing yards for good measure. Georgia doubled the offensive production of Georgia Tech in the game and prevented Georgia Tech from taking away time on the clock with long scoring drives.
Georgia will now take on either Alabama or Auburn in the SEC Championship Game next week in Atlanta. The opponent from the SEC West will be determined today in The Iron Bowl with Auburn hosting the No. 1 Crimson Tide. Auburn thrashed Georgia just a few weeks ago, but Georgia and Alabama have not played each other this season. Regardless of the opponent, the stakes will be high as it is universally accepted the SEC champion will be one of the four teams selected to play in the College Football Playoff. The only team that can potentially suffer a loss in the title game and still stand a decent shot of being included in the playoff without a mass chaos scenario in play appears to be Alabama, and even that is not a guarantee depending on the variables in play.
Georgia has not won the SEC championship since 2005, when the Bulldogs topped No. 3 LSU by a score of 34-14. Georgia is 0-2 in the conference title game since then, with back-to-back losses to No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Win or lose, Georgia is guaranteed to be going bowling. Georgia Tech will now have to wait and see if any bowl vacancies still need to be filled. At 5-6, Georgia Tech is not eligible for the postseason (Georgia Tech only played 11 games after having a game against UCF scrapped due to a hurricane early in the season. The Yellow Jackets could ask for a waiver but otherwise would have to be standing in line to fill any leftover bowl spots that may be available. And those vacancies may not be there this season.