Greg McElroy, Joey Galloway consider whether Georgia has pulled away from CFP field

Georgia vs. Tennessee Preview and Prediction - JD PicKell

After occupying the No. 2 spot in the first two weeks of the College Football Playoff Rankings, the Georgia Bulldogs have reclaimed the top spot, coming in at No. 1 in the committee’s Week 12 rankings.

Georgia has been undefeated since their SEC Championship loss to Alabama in 2021, a rematch that’s already been confirmed for this year’s title game, and is fresh off of a dominant 52-17 over an Ole Miss team ranked No. 9 last Saturday. Which led to ESPN college football analysts Joey Galloway and Greg McElroy discussing if the Bulldogs have started to pull away from the rest of the nation’s top teams.

“I think with the win against Ole Miss, we finally got to see the Georgia team that we expected,” Galloway said. “Separation, I don’t know how much separation there is because when you look at the way Alabama’s playing, if they were to line up right now and play one another, I don’t know that I would feel very comfortable with ranking Georgia ahead of them in that game. I think Ohio State is strong. I think Michigan is strong. I am just excited that at this time of year, we still have so many viable candidates to still get into the top four.”

Georgia’s back-to-back national championship wins have rightfully earned them respect across the college football landscape, but the strength of their schedule had some questioning how high they should be ranked. They’ve now secured three wins over ranked opponents with a chance for another this weekend at Tennessee, with their ability to win specifically on the offensive side of the ball impressing McElroy.

“One thing that we’ve talked about for a while since the Playoff was introduced in 2014 was in order to win championships, you have to score points,” McElroy said. “Georgia, and albeit maybe for a little while reluctantly under Kirby Smart, they’ve now completely evolved into a drop-back passing attack led by Carson Beck, who I think still as of this moment is among the most underrated players in the country at his position. He’s got … maybe the most dynamic and versatile weapon in Brock Bowers with Ladd McConkey that is now really coming into his own with some other really talented pieces, as well. The offensive line is solidifying.”

Georgia’s offense has been rolling, averaging 40.6 points per game this season with an effective and balanced attack. But despite them having the best scoring defense in the SEC to complement that offense, McElroy surprisingly has some concerns about a Bulldogs’ defense that’s been the focal point of their two championship runs.

“The one question I have for Georgia, and this is crazy because we hold them to a different standard: Is their defense as good as it’s been in recent years? Are they as good against the run?” McElroy asked. “Because those are real question marks. I saw Missouri moving them off the ball at times. I saw Peyton Thorne hit a couple of big plays in the run game when they played Auburn. That would be my only concern about making the argument on behalf of Georgia separating. But their offense, I think, is kind of in a league of their own right now.”

Bulldog fans would argue the Georgia program as a whole has been in a league of their own for over two seasons now, as it will be intriguing to see if Smart and his squad can maintain their postseason dominance in the coming months.