The Georgia Bulldogs (12-1) are in the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in the last five years. This will be head coach Kirby Smart’s seventh appearance in the playoffs, as he made two previous appearances with Alabama as its defensive coordinator. Smart is 4-2 in the College Football Playoff as Georgia’s head coach.
Georgia will be playing in the Sugar Bowl on January 1 in New Orleans. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. Its opponent will be either Tulane or Ole Miss. If Georgia were to win, it would then face the winner of the Cotton Bowl (Ohio State vs. the winner of Miami-Texas A&M) in the Fiesta Bowl, which would be played at 7:30 p.m. on January 8. If Georgia were to win the Fiesta Bowl, it would play in the National Championship Game against Oregon, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, or Indiana.
Several SEC Network analysts were asked to make their early national championship picks, and the panel leaned heavily toward Georgia.
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Former Auburn head coach Gene Chizik did not hesitate to predict Georgia over Indiana.
“Indiana-Georgia, that’s the game,” Chizik said. “And Georgia out-physicals them; they’ve been in these games before. It’s their championship DNA that takes over. Georgia, again, is playing the best football of the year. They’re ascending, and every week they’ve incrementally gotten better. And they get a first-round bye.”
Roman Harper echoed that confidence.
“Gimme the Dawgs. I got the Dawgs over Indiana,” Harper said. “I think it’s something special about this Curt Cignetti team; the way they’ve played. They have just been a team that’s just made plays. It doesn’t know who it is. It’s not always fancy. It’s just when you need the moment or the play, they have somebody that always steps up. So I like Indiana to get there, and I like Georgia to take it over the top.”
Chris Doering also picked Georgia to claim the title, though he sees a different opponent on the other side.
“We haven’t had an SEC team in the national championship game in two years now,” Doering said. “There’s some pent-up demand there. So not only are we going to get one team, we’re going to get two. Georgia is going to beat the Oklahoma Sooners.”
Here are their predictions in their own words:
The Indiana Hoosiers were 13-0 this season, with wins over the current No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes and the No. 5 Oregon Ducks. The win over the Buckeyes gave Indiana its first Big 10 title since 1967. Winning the Big Ten gave Indiana a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, which is its second appearance in the tournament.
The Oklahoma Sooners were 10-2 this season, with wins over the current No. 11 Alabama Crimson Tide, No. 18 Michigan Wolverines, and No. 25 Missouri Tigers. They also had losses to the current No. 6 Ole Miss Rebels and No. 14 Texas Longhorns. They will have a rematch against the Crimson Tide in the first round of the College Football Playoff on December 19, at 8 p.m. in Norman.
Overall, the Sooners have played five schools that are currently ranked in the AP Top 25, while Indiana has only played two, and that includes the Big Ten Championship Game. Indiana has been propped up by a weak schedule two years in a row. Both seasons, they made it to the College Football Playoff while playing just one team that remained ranked at the end of the regular season. By comparison, Indiana played six teams this season with a losing record, compared to Oklahoma, which only played four.
That said, Oklahoma has looked like a one-sided team down the stretch. Their offense is extremely inconsistent, while their defense is one of the most elite units in the nation. Let’s compare both teams when it comes to scoring, allowing other teams to score, moving the ball, and allowing other teams to move the ball.
Scoring Offense
- Indiana No. 5 (41.9)
- Oklahoma No. 78 (26.4)
Scoring Defense
- Indiana No. 2 (10.8)
- Oklahoma No. 7 (13.9)
Total Offense
- Indiana No. 8 (472.8)
- Oklahoma No, 90 353.7)
Total Defense
- Indiana No. 6 (257.2)
- Oklahoma No. 9 (273.6)
The difference in Oklahoma’s overall team performance is the main reason BCFToys has Indiana ranked No. 1 in FEI, and Oklahoma is No. 13.
For these reasons, I would prefer to see Oklahoma in the National Championship Game, though I would have no issue demonstrating how overrated Indiana is given its soft Big Ten schedule. Ultimately, as all three analysts indicated, I would have Georgia favored over either team.
