Alabama was just hungrier.
And it was only 27-24. UGA did have their top 2 receivers (and difference makers) limping on the field and their #3 receiver out as well as a starting offensive lineman. But UGA knows they are out. Kirby is just doing his coach speak.
Its a game of inches. UGA had a FG bounce off an upright. UGA had a hand on a fumble, but Alabama managed to get in a grab it, leading to an Alabama FG. Alabama got credit for a catch that wasn't on a 4th and 4 that lead to an Alabama TD.
If any of those 3 close things go the other way, its OT or UGA wins. I do think Kirby's offensive play calling after the first drive (where they walked down the field) was pretty weak. Alabama has been burned on deep balls this season and UGA almost never tried, despite two Alabama corners being out.
Well I would put UGA in and UW out for best 4, but I'm 100% sure Washington will be in the top 4 in the CFP rankings and 95% sure UGA will not be in the top 4.
https://themw.com/news/2023/12/01/mountain-west-announces-football-scheduling-agreement-with-oregon-state-and-washington-state/
MWC/OSU/WSU scheduling agreement is official. They are apparently also discussing other sports. Washington St. will play 8 games against MWC schools next year, more than any MWC member!
Its a one year deal for now.
Well they beat teams like TCU, Baylor, Wisconsin, etc. that weren't nearly as good as they were expected to be. Not sure Oregon's win over Tech isn't their best ooc win.
Someone mentioned the committee:
Big 10 3 members
ACC 2
SEC 1
Pac 12 1
Big 12 1
MWC 1
AAC 1
Other 2 (Journalist and Virginia Union)
RC Slocum-interim AD at ASU, Aggie coach, not sure where you slot him. Half SEC, half Pac 12?
Bad vibes Committee loves Oregon. Or they have just decided to put the Pac 12 in during their final year. UW-OR winner is in the playoffs. So that game doesn't matter to us, no matter how big a win we get on Saturday. We need Iowa or Louisville to win. We should stay ahead of Alabama if they win, but that's not certain.
https://sports.yahoo.com/sources-oregon-state-washington-state-finalizing-scheduling-alliance-with-mountain-west-conference-180632163.html
Pac 2 not going away just yet. OSU/WSU about to finalize a scheduling alliance with the MWC, paying them $14 million to drop to 7 conference games and schedule one with OSU/WSU. Because they keep existing ooc games, Washington St. will play 8 MWC games next year while MWC members will only play 7!
Seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to pretend to be in a power conference. They should have been talking to people instead of suing. Don't think anyone would begrudge them power CFP money for 2 years. And at least from public statements, it seems like the dispute with the 10 Pac is current year revenues, which the WSU president previously said HAD to be distributed ratably.
I guess you don't do math. The #1 has only won 3 out of 9 years and those were overwhelming teams. The #4 has won 2 out of 9. Seeding has been pretty poor. When Alvarez and Osborne were on the committee, #1 seed never won.
They were kept out because Ohio St. had name brand and Wisconsin forgot to show up for the Big 10 ccg. TCU was sitting in 3rd, won 55-3 over Iowa St. and got jumped by both FSU and Ohio St.
Their reasoning varies week to week. You can't justify some of their decisions. Maybe they just outsource their decisions to 247. Who has the best recruiting class, tempered by the number of wins and losses.
The #1 team is only 10-6 and that's just because UGA, LSU and Alabama have been so dominant lately. #1 was 3-5 in the first 5 years. They've only won 3 of the 9 years. LSU in 2019 was the first #1 seed to win.
#2 started better, winning 3 of the first 5, but overall they are just 7-6.
#3 is 6-8 with Georgia being the only one who won it all.
#4 has won twice. They are 4-7 and have lost the last 5 years in the first round. Of course OU skews the stats. #4s other than OU are 4-4.
Refs called 3 UGA TDs back and overruled a catch that would have lead to a 4th. There were a couple of replays that overturned really bad calls. Lead ref seemed really upset that those got overruled. Georgia had a starting OL and their top 3 receivers out. Kirby was just trying to stay healthy. Play calling was very vanilla. He wasn't going to show Alabama anything. It was still a 15 point lead until Tech scored with about 5 minutes left to make it 8.