Georgia became college football’s overtime king on Saturday by defeating Texas 22-19 in overtime to clinch the SEC championship game.

The Bulldogs, who have won two straight overtime games and beat rival Georgia Tech 44-42 in eight overtimes the week before, have a well-deserved bye in the 12-team College Football Playoff and next play at 8:45 p.m January 1st at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

The CFP Selection Committee will release its final rankings at noon Sunday, which will lead to the seeding of the 12-team bracket.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart was caught up in the moment after the Bulldogs’ triumph with backup quarterback Gunner Stockton and a stingy defense.

“This means rest for a team that Greg Sankey and his staff have put on the road all year,” Smart said with the SEC commissioner standing nearby at the trophy stand.

“We can take a little break and get ready for the College Football Playoff.”

Georgia had the No. 1 team on the schedule all season and played a killer lineup that included road trips to the then-No. 4 Alabama, a then-No. 1 ranked Texas and then-No. 13 Ole Miss team.

Next

Georgia (11-2) plays a yet-to-be-determined opponent in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m.

Believe it or not, it could be Texas for the third time this season. UGA defeated the Longhorns 30-15 in Austin in October.

The top four conference champions receive byes in the 12-team CFP, with the SEC champion contracted to play in the Sugar Bowl and the Big Ten champion contracted to play in the Rose Bowl.

Oregon and Georgia will be the top two seeds in the 12-team CFP.

The Ducks will play the winner of the first-round game on campus between the No. 8 and No. 9 seeds, which is believed to be Tennessee vs. Ohio State.

The Bulldogs will play the winner of the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds, which presents several possibilities.

Loser of the league title game against Notre Dame

Currently, the likely seed is No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Penn State or currently No. 4 Notre Dame at 5-6-7 – the order will be determined by the CFP committee – and Ohio State as no. 8, Tennessee at No. 9 and Indiana at No. 10.

That would mean the Bulldogs and Longhorns could potentially play in the Sugar Bowl again – for the third time – if Texas is the No. 7 seed and beats the Hoosiers in Austin on Dec. 20 or 21, as currently projected.

However, there is still a chance that Notre Dame or Penn State, currently ranked No. 4, could end up at No. 7 and play Indiana with the Sugar Bowl trip on the line.

It all depends on how the CFP selection committee performs after the conference champions top four seeds

• the Longhorns (11-2),

• the Nittany Lions (11-2) and,

• The Irish (11-1) are idle with no conference championship game to play in.

Ranking No. 5-6-7 will certainly be interesting when the final rankings are announced on Sunday afternoon.

Fiesta and peach

The Fiesta Bowl and Peach Bowl host the other top-ranked conference champions at Nos. 3 and 4.

The No. 3 seed (current rankings suggests Boise State) would await the winner of the game between the No. 6 and No. 11 seeds in the Fiesta Bowl, while the No. 4 seed (Clemson or Arizona State, depending on who). ranked higher) will play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against the winner of the game between numbers 5 and 12.

At that point, Notre Dame, Texas or Penn State will take the No. 5 or No. 6 seed and play the scheduled No. 11 and No. 12 seed.

CFP team final results

10th-ranked Boise State defeated No. 20 UNLV 21-7 in the Mountain West Conference Championship Game on Friday night.

No. 15 Arizona State defeated No. 16 Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 Championship Game earlier Saturday.

No. 5 Georgia defeated No. 2 Texas 22-19 (OT) in the SEC Championship Game

No. 1 Oregon defeated No. 3 Penn State 45-37 in the Big Ten Championship Game

No. 17 Clemson defeated No. 8 SMU 37-34 in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night.

It could be a challenge for the 13-member CFP selection committee to determine the ranking of conference champions after Oregon and Georgia took the top two spots.

Which two teams will rank higher and earn first round byes between: Boise State, Arizona State and Clemson?

CFP Committee Chairman Warde Manuel said last Tuesday that teams not participating in championship games would not be moved in the rankings.

At some point Manuel said: “We’re not going back with the rankings.”

Is Alabama coming in?

The other question the CFP committee needs to answer is who gets the final overall spot.

SMU lost on a last-second field goal after rallying from a 17-point deficit in the final minute to tie Clemson.

Will the Mustangs fall behind an 11th-ranked Alabama team that finished the season 9-3 and didn’t appear in a conference championship game?

Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst Greg McElroy said SMU should make the College Football Playoff.

“I don’t think anyone could come out of this situation and think SMU doesn’t belong,” said McElroy, who was in line for the Clemson-SMU thriller. “The committee has a very dangerous precedent that could be set if SMU is left out. They discourage conference championship games.

“The conference championship game should be a reward.”

Conventional wisdom suggests that SMU will indeed win against Alabama, as the CFP committee has said it is not its intent to “punish” losers of championship games.

However, Manuel also said the commissioners asked the CFP committee to evaluate the teams including their performances in conference championship games.

Here’s a look at the teams’ rankings heading into the conference championship game weekend and the results:

(Will be updated)

1. Oregon 12-0 (Beat Penn State 45-37, Big Ten title game)

2. Texas 11-2 (22-19 OT loss to Georgia, SEC title game)

3. Penn State 11-1 (lost 45-37 to Oregon, Big Ten title game)

4. Notre Dame 11-1 (hosts first-round CFP game)

5. Georgia 11-2 (Defeat Texas, 22-19 OT SEC title game)

6. Ohio State 10-2 (First Round CFP Game)

7. Tennessee 10-2 (First Round CFP Game)

8. SMU 11-1 (lost 34-31 to Clemson, ACC title game)

9. Indiana 11-1 (CFP first round game)

10. Boise State 12-1 (Beat UNLV 21-7, MWC title game)

11. Alabama 9-3 (TBA)

12. Miami 10-2 (Bowl Game)

13. Ole Miss 9-3 (bowl game)

14. South Carolina 9-3 (bowl game)

15. Arizona State 11-2 (Defeat Iowa State 45-19, Big 12 title game)

16. Iowa State 10-3 (loss to Arizona State 45-19, Big 12 title game)

17. Clemson 9-3 (Defeat SMU 34-31, ACC title game)

18. BYU 10-2 (Bowl Game)

19. Missouri 9-3 (bowl game)

20. UNLV 10-2 (lost 31-7 to Boise State, MWC title game)

21. Illinois 9-3 (bowl game)

22. Syracuse 9-3 (bowl game)

23. Colorado 9-3 (Bowl Game)

24. Army 10-1 (Defeat Tulane 35-14, AAC title game)

25. Memphis 10-2 (bowl game)

Schedule, dates, TV channels, websites for the 2024-25 College Football Playoff

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