Georgia Bulldogs Take No. 1 CFP Ranking After 42-7 Ole Miss Rout

Q: With the 24-team expansion arriving in 2027, will dramatic bubble eliminations like the current Ole Miss predicament disappear?

No. The 24-team playoff will not eliminate dramatic bubble exits; it will mostly move them down the board and make them less common for teams in Ole Miss’ current range. In the 12-team format, a team sitting around No. 10 to No. 15 can see its season effectively collapse after a second bad loss, which is why Ole Miss looks so vulnerable now. In a 24-team field with 19 at-large bids plus five automatic spots, a team with Ole Miss’ profile — good wins, one respectable close loss, but two blowouts — would usually still remain alive much later. A fall from No. 10 to No. 14 would no longer be close to fatal. But the pressure will not disappear. It will shift to the new cutoff line, likely around the low 20s, and to seeding battles. Teams will still be knocked out by late losses; the committee will just be deciding between No. 21 and No. 25 instead of No. 11 and No. 15. The stakes above the line also remain significant because the 24-team format rewards higher placement with byes for the top eight and home-field advantage for seeds 9 through 16. Expansion also changes who benefits. More three-loss SEC and Big Ten teams should stay in contention, while bubble drama will increasingly involve mid-tier Power 4 teams and the fight for the Group of 6 berth. So Ole Miss-style eliminations will be softer, not gone: fewer seasons will end abruptly for teams ranked in the mid-teens, but somebody will always be the new last team out.

3 articles · Updated · WSB Atlanta · Nov 11

Georgia climbed to No. 1 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings after Saturday’s 42-7 win over Ole Miss pushed the Bulldogs to 8-1.
Utah rose to No. 2 at 9-0 after beating BYU, while Alabama, UCLA and Notre Dame rounded out the top five.
Five SEC teams landed in the top 12, with Texas, Miami, Tennessee, Indiana, BYU, Kentucky and Texas Tech filling spots 6 through 12 in the expanded playoff race.
Wake Forest at No. 13, Houston at No. 14 and Iowa at No. 15 remain within reach with only a few regular-season weeks left, while the 12-team format reserves one berth for the highest-ranked Group of 5 team.