5 games with the biggest College Football Playoff implications in Week 1

No. 1 Clemson vs Georgia

This is a no-brainer. If you’re a fan of college football you’ve probably had this game circled on your calendar and Saturday night, we get a top-five showdown in primetime.

Third-ranked Clemson obviously knows more about making the College Football Playoff than any team not named Alabama, while the Crimson Tide has denied Georgia numerous trips over the years.

This time, the Bulldogs get to take on Clemson and it’s the perfect opportunity for Georgia to show the college football world it’s worthy of the playoff.

The only other time Georgia made the playoff was because Alabama didn’t reach the SEC championship. The Dawgs won the conference title and punched their ticket.

However, they haven’t been able to get over the hump in recent years. But if Georgia beats Clemson Saturday, the Dawgs could easily make the College Football Playoff without beating Bama or winning the SEC.

Say Georgia beats Clemson on Saturday and then runs the table until the SEC title game. It would add wins over Florida, and at Auburn, before possibly facing Bama in the SEC championship.

Imagine if Oklahoma, Ohio State, and Clemson all win their conferences. We’re leaving out the Pac-12 until it proves something — but if the top five contenders are Bama, Georiga, OSU, Oklahoma, and Clemson (assuming Tigers win ACC), how do you not give the nod to Georgia if it won head-to-head over Clemson?

Even if Georgia didn’t have an SEC title, 12 wins and a neutral site wins over Clemson and Florida would probably still be enough for a berth in the College Football Playoff, assuming Oregon or USC don’t go undefeated, and even then, Georgia could still prevail.

For Clemson, it would certainly bolster the playoff resume and give the Tigers some margin for error. If a game is lost along the way, it would be easier to explain away with a win over an elite SEC team on the resume.

However, if the Tigers lost to Georgia, any other loss would doom their hopes of returning to the College Football Playoff.