Here's the doomsday situation that keeps Georgia football out of CFP

I doubt Georgia fans give a hoot about what Urban Meyer, of all people, thinks, but the former Florida coach spit truth when he spotlighted the Bulldogs’ weak schedule.
“I just also think the NCAA should mandate scheduling,” Meyer said on his “Urban’s Take with Tim May” podcast, while noting the schedules of Georgia and Michigan.
Meyer’s wrong about the NCAA needing to become schedule czar. The NCAA can’t manage the duties it has. It doesn’t need more power.
He’s right, though, about Georgia’s schedule. It's triple-ply soft. The Bulldogs won’t play an opponent ranked in the preseason Top 25 until mid-November. Overall, their schedule includes just two preseason ranked opponents: Ole Miss and Tennessee. Comparatively, South Carolina will play three preseason Top 25 opponents during September alone and five preseason ranked teams throughout the year.
Combine Georgia’s stockpile of talent with a schedule that’s among the SEC’s weakest, and UGA should strut into the College Football Playoff while stalking its third straight national championship.
But, does a world exist in which Georgia could miss the playoff with just a single loss?
Conventional wisdom says no, that a two-time defending national champion from the SEC that goes 12-1 should safely be in the playoff.
However, this cupcake feast might backfire on the Bulldogs if they would lose in the SEC championship and must stack their résumé against Power Five conference champions that are either 13-0 or 12-1.
The NCAA wields no influence on scheduling, but the College Football Playoff selection committee is empowered to hold teams accountable for their schedule.
Consider this scenario:
– Alabama or LSU wins the SEC Championship with no more than one loss. In the playoff.– Michigan or Ohio State wins the Big Ten with no more than one loss. In the playoff.– The ACC champion finishes with no more than one loss. A good candidate for the playoff.– Either a Big 12 or Pac-12 champion finishes with no more than one loss. A good candidate for the playoff.– The loser of Michigan-OSU doesn’t win the Big Ten but finishes 12-1. Possible playoff candidate.– SEC runner-up Georgia is 12-1. Possible playoff candidate.
Probably, Georgia would get the benefit of the doubt. Consecutive national titles linger on the brain. But, the schedule leaves the door cracked to the possibility of one-loss Georgia being on the playoff bubble.
SEC schedules will become more balanced after Oklahoma and Texas join in 2024 and divisions are eliminated. The SEC will unify into a 16-team conference. Each team will play every SEC opponent at least twice every four years.
In the meantime, Georgia can’t depend on schedule strength to paper over any cracks in its performance. An unexpected loss, combined with a weak schedule, could create a doomsday situation.
More likely, Georgia will feast on the meek and romp to an undefeated No. 1 playoff seed.
SEC coaches don’t doubt Georgia football
What’s that I was saying about Georgia maybe losing a game? Crazy talk.
The coaches’ preseason All-SEC team suggests Georgia is a CFP shoo-in.
The Bulldogs had five offensive and five defensive players earn preseason first-team All-SEC honors. By comparison, LSU had three first-teamers on each side of the ball. Alabama had just one first-team selection on offense and two on defense.
Gary writes: Do you find it odd that Tennessee did not have any first- or second-team All-SEC players? Yet, they are projected to be second in the SEC East.
My response: I thought Georgia claimed all the spots on the first and second teams? Ha. I’m not too surprised. Tennessee wide receiver Bru McCoy did earn second-team selection. Also, I think voters believe in Josh Heupel and Joe Milton and see a manageable schedule for the Vols.
Richard writes: Are you feeling OK, Blake? Two articles in a row about the Tide and no bashing – better check your vitals.
My response: Now that you mention it, I have had a little bit of a cough. I might need to get that checked out.
Three and out
1. When Georgia’s Carson Beck takes the first snap against Tennessee-Martin on Sept. 2, it will mark the veteran quarterback’s first start in 1,394 days, according to the Athens Banner-Herald’s tabulation. Beck spent the past three years as a Georgia backup. Tell me again how college athletes don’t have any school loyalty nowadays.
2. Alabama and Tennessee each recently announced a team-branded vodka, in partnership with an Iowa distilling company. A portion of sales will benefit the associated school’s NIL collective. I thought this was whiskey country, but fans will comprise and imbibe clear liquor if they believe they’re helping their team’s recruiting efforts.
3. I am shocked – shocked, I tell you! – to read reviews that “Swamp Kings,” Netflix’s docuseries on the Urban Meyer era at Florida, shilled for Meyer and the Gators. If you want fearless and revelatory sports reporting, Netflix docs aren’t the place to start.
When’s the last time you could enter a season and say, with a straight face, that Alabama is the hunter in the SEC, not the hunted? Nearly a decade, at least.