The UGA-Alabama clash of top-4 powers easily stands as the most attractive matchup of Championship Weekend (Friday-Saturday).
In that vein, it only stands to reason the SEC title game would boast the highest consumer demand on the primary- and secondary-ticket markets.
According to Vivid Seats, the median-price demand for Georgia vs. Alabama approaches $500, roughly 58 percent higher than the next-best championship bout (Big 12 title game, pitting No. 6 Oklahoma vs. No. 14 Texas).
Here are the current median prices for the six championship games at the FBS level (source: VividSeats.com):
1. SEC ($500)
2. Big 12 ($285)
3. Big Ten ($150 — Ohio State vs. Northwestern)
4. ACC ($100 — Clemson vs. Pittsburgh)
5. Pac-12 ($96 — Washington vs. Utah)
6. American Athletic ($72 — UCF vs. Memphis)
WHAT'S AT STAKE
The SEC faces a no-lose situation for Saturday, knowing the league champion will represent the conference in the national semifinals.
(With Notre Dame's highly probable inclusion this year, at least two Power 5 leagues will be excluded from the four-team Playoff.)
As for shoehorning two member schools into the Playoff, here are the two ways it could plausibly occur:
SCENARIO #1
In our opinion, top-ranked Alabama's a lock for the Playoff, win or lose versus Georgia.
Why is that?
With the exception of Texas A&M, 'Bama has shredded every other major opponent by at least 24 points—including No. 10 LSU (29-0 in Baton Rouge).
As such, the Crimson Tide likely have wiggle room for reaching the Playoff, even in defeat.
(Not that head coach Nick Saban would ever leave such things to chance.)
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So, if UGA stages an epic coup on Saturday, the final CFP rankings could bear this revamped look:
ORANGE BOWL: 1) Clemson vs. 4) Alabama
COTTON BOWL: 2) Georgia vs. 3) Notre Dame
SCENARIO #2
Let's say the Georgia-Alabama comes down to the final seconds, with the Tide having enough good fortune to earn a thrilling victory.
Would the Playoff committee really punish Georgia that much, considering how no other team in college football had even tested Alabama in the fourth quarter?
If Oklahoma loses to Texas (Big 12 title game), and Ohio State struggles against Northwestern for the Big Ten championship (win or lose), this might be enough to sweep the Bulldogs into the Playoff.
The only flaw with this rationale: The CFP committee would never force top-ranked Alabama to beat Georgia twice, as a means of reaching the championship game.
The best path for for circumvention?
Clemson would need to struggle mightily against Pittsburgh (ACC title game) ... although it would be unrealistic to project a loss on the Tigers' end.
Under the above hypothetical, the final Playoff rankings could appear like this:
COTTON BOWL: 1) Alabama vs. 4) Clemson
ORANGE BOWL: 2) Notre Dame vs. 3) Georgia
