ATHENS, Ga.–It's difficult to formulate an opinion about UGA and Clemson alternating the No. 2 and 3 slots in the Associated Press and USATODAY/Amway Coaches polls, respectively, without coming off as snarky.
Yes, there's a large faction of Bulldogs (No. 2 in AP) and Tigers fans who feel strongly about their favorite program owning the coveted 2-spot, just below top-ranked Alabama.
However, here's the cold reality: None of this means anything at this point–or even 30 days from now–outside of network TV executives using a higher ranking to generate the hype machine for future clashes; and even then, you're not less likely to watch Georgia @ LSU on Oct. 13 ... if it's the No. 2 or No. 3 Dawgs.
Right?
On the flip side, the hook of "No. 6 LSU," compared to the Tigers opening the season outside the Top 25, sounds pretty good for TV-hype purposes.
Which brings us to this: It's a good thing UGA and LSU will meet in Baton Rouge 25 days from now; because if the College Football Playoff selection committee had a deadline of releasing the first CFP rankings by Oct. 9 (four days before the above matchup), LSU might initially garner a higher number than Georgia.
Why is that? Forget about how ugly the Tigers offense looked for sustained stretches on Saturday.
From a resume standpoint, LSU has no peer in upending two top-10 programs (No. 8 Miami on a neutral field ... and No. 7 Auburn at Jordan-Hare Stadium); and this track-record supremacy includes Georgia, which has rolled up 40-plus points in each of its three victories, while facing just one school of consequence (South Carolina).
But since we'll have a game on Oct. 13 (weather permitting), resume-building in September won't really be an issue around the Halloween holiday–when the initial CFP rankings go public.
In essence, the head-to-head strength of Georgia beating LSU on the road would be of supreme interest to the selection committee, when forced to choose another SEC school for the top 4.
WHAT'S YOUR PLEASURE–MIAMI OR DALLAS?
During Monday's media-availability session, a handful of reporters asked the UGA foursome of Jonathan Ledbetter, J.R. Reed, Jeremiah Holloman and Elijah Holyfield about the lack of great competition in the SEC East–apparently forgetting Missouri (3-0) and Kentucky (1-0) share the same record as the Dawgs.
Plus, Kentucky already has the cachet of knocking off Florida ... at The Swamp, no less.
That aside, the questions were a tad manipulative for these calm, collected players, who have been well-schooled in the art of being folksy, charming and respectful during media queries–without revealing anything of substance.
Heck, even Coach Kirby Smart was asked about potentially divulging the game plan for Saturday's showdown in Columbia; and he responded, in kind, providing an answer that was equal parts terse, evasive, humorous, colorful and snarky.
See, Coach Smart can get away with good-natured snark, when addressing audiences. Damn!
Of course, Smart should accept partial blame for the media's leading questions. Georgia has so much depth, athleticism, talent and ready-to-perform swagger ... it's hard not to look forward to the CFP's first set of official rankings (Oct. 30).
Which begs the question: Is there an upside to being the No. 1 or No. 2 seed this year, from an SEC-member perspective?
**In a hypothetical world, I don't see any competitive advantage to meeting Clemson over Ohio State in the semifinal round–and vice versa; and don't forget about Oklahoma as a national-title contender.
**Of the four previous College Football Playoffs, the 4-seed has captured two national championships (2014 Ohio State, 2017 Alabama).
**The CFP semifinals (Saturday, Dec. 29) take place at the Orange Bowl (Miami) and AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas (suburban Dallas).
**It's an 875-mile drive from Athens to Arlington; and from Athens to Miami, it's 678 miles.
For the Alabama crowd, it's an 807-mile voyage from Birmingham to Miami ... and 659 miles to Arlington.
To the normal traveler, this might seem like a big difference in both scenarios. But to the hard-core supporters of Alabama and Georgia, driving distance has never been a factor in determining whether the ticket-buying fans will show up on gameday.
Especially for high-stakes events.
So go ahead and presume the SEC West champion (as a top-2 CFP seed) being shipped to Dallas for the semifinals ... and the SEC East champion (as a top-2 CFP seed) being earmarked for Miami during the semifinals.
It really doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme, outside of one's preference for sumptuous seafood in south Florida or high-end barbecue in the heart of Texas.
THE RACE TO AVOID ALABAMA
Just for kicks, let's say UGA and Alabama breeze through the regular season unscathed and meet in Atlanta for the SEC championship (Dec. 1).
Outside of the Big Ten, ACC, Big 12 and Pac-12 champions having perfect records during the season (or a combination of three schools meeting this lofty criteria), we all know the loser of 12-0 Alabama vs. 12-0 Georgia would still make the College Football Playoff field.
History indicates this to be true. No matter which athletic directors, league executives or prominent politicians serve on the committee. It's a wonderful spoil for residing in the nation's most powerful conference, year-in and year-out.
From this plausible hypothetical, three questions would arise:
a) On the presumption of the Alabama-Georgia winner remaining No. 1 in the country, would the CFP committee drop the SEC championship loser to a No. 4 seed, thus guaranteeing an immediate rematch in the national semifinals?
b) Would a quick rematch be a turn-off for TV viewers, since they had already invested plenty of emotion into the SEC title game?
c) What's more daunting: Giving Nick Saban four full weeks to prepare for a CFP semifinal ... or only getting eight days to prepare for Alabama in a national-championship setting?
Actually, the third question might have an easy answer.
Yes, Saban has captured two national titles since 2015, but all three CFP title games could have gone either way (average final spread: 4 points)–two battles with Clemson and last year's epic overtime clash with Georgia.
So, there's your answer, Dawg fans.
'Tis better to waffle between the 2 and 3 slots today–knowing it means nothing in the short term–than live in fear of drawing a rematch with Saban in the Playoff semis.
