College Football Playoff 2024 - Week 12 bubble watch - ESPN

If the playoff were today, No. 12 Georgia wouldn't be in it. Which means the Bulldogs' game against Tennessee on Saturday just got even bigger.

With two-loss Georgia teetering on the edge at No. 12 in the College Football Playoff selection committee's latest ranking, it's clear they need to beat the Vols to help cement their place in the postseason. If the fifth-highest-ranked conference champion is ranked outside of the committee's top 12, the No. 12 team will get bumped out of the bracket to make room.

If the playoff were today, No. 13 Boise State would elbow No. 12 Georgia out and earn the No. 12 seed because the five highest-ranked conference champions are guaranteed spots in the playoff.

Georgia is the fifth SEC team in the rankings and third with two losses, and Georgia lost to both of those other two-loss teams — Ole Miss and Alabama. Its wins against No. 3 Texas and No. 20 Clemson are keeping the Bulldogs alive for now.

Below are three other takeaways from the committee's second of six rankings as well as at eight teams on the bubble, and how the Group of 5 race stacks up.

Jump to a topic:
What we learned
Last two in | First four out
Next four out | Group of 5

The Big Ten is getting big love

The Big Ten owns four of the five top spots, with No. 1 Oregon in the top spot for the second week, followed by No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Penn State and No. 5 Indiana, which earned a bump after its win against Michigan. The committee has rewarded the undefeated Hoosiers for how they have won in spite of one of the nation's weaker schedules. That will change on Nov. 23 when Indiana plays the Buckeyes. Would a head-to-head win against the committee's No. 2 team catapult Indiana into that same spot? Tuesday's No. 5 ranking certainly