From The Sports Desk

Last we heard from the Sports Desk, the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs had just suffered a defeat at the hands of the Auburn Tigers and fell from No. 1 all the way down to No. 7.  Alabama returned to their customary No. 1 spot, and Miami, who had been creeping up the rankings all season like a pair of cheap underwear on a summer day, reached No. 2.

Since then, Georgia soundly defeated arch-rival Georgia Tech, 38-7.  Better yet, Auburn, not content to just ruin the Bulldogs' season, beat their arch-rival Alabama, 26-14, and knocked the Tide out of First Place, and on top of that, Miami did everyone a favor and lost to Pittsburgh of all teams (WTF?) and lost their No. 2 spot.  

The latest CFB Selection Committee rankings came out last night, and Clemson is the new No. 1 for the first time this season and Auburn is No. 2.  Alabama dropped to No. 5 and out of the SEC Championship game, and it's hard to picture a scenario in which they make the National Championship playoffs, as their regular season is now officially over.  Georgia moved up one spot, from 7 to 6, and play new SEC West leader Auburn in the SEC Championship game this Saturday.

The rematch is on!  It's not often in college football that a team gets to avenge a loss in the same season.

The Championship game is in Atlanta's new Mercedes Benz Stadium, and even though I'm sure a lot of Auburn fans will make the trip to Atlanta, it's got to feel at least a little like home field advantage for the Bulldogs.  Add to that the revenge motive and the possibility that Auburn, coming off from two monumental wins against top-ranked teams, might experience a let-down and you've got to like Georgia's chances.  

If  Georgia wins and beats the No. 2 Tigers, it's hard to conceive of them not reaching the Top 4 in the rankings and qualifying for the National Championship playoffs. Assuming that Clemson, Oklahoma and Wisconsin all win their Conference Championships, Georgia would likely leap past Alabama and be ranked No. 4, just squeaking under the wire into the playoffs.  

But if any one of Clemson, Oklahoma, or Wisconsin lose their game in a Conference upset, there would be two open spots in the Top 4 and both Georgia and Auburn both could qualify, potentially setting up the best-two-out-of-three second rematch game between the two teams.  If Clemson loses against Miami in the ACC Championship, the Top 4 would probably be some combination of Miami, Georgia, Oklahoma and Wisconsin, potentially setting up a Georgia-Miami game ("RichtBowl").

Of course, if Georgia loses as the odds makers predict, it's all over for the Dogs, National Championship-wise, although they'll probably get a prestigious Bowl invitation.  RichtBowl could still happen if both Georgia and Miami lose their Conference championship games and the two teams wind up playing in the Sugar Bowl.

Confused?  Let the Sports Desk break it all down for you.  The Top 4 teams of Clemson, Auburn, Oklahoma and Wisconsin all have Conference championships this weekend, and:

If Clemson loses - Miami makes it to the Natties, potentially setting up a RichtBowl game against Georgia.

If Auburn loses - Georgia makes it to the Natties.

If Oklahoma loses - Not going to happen, as they play TCU and teams from Texas always choke in clutch games.

If Wisconsin loses - Auburn can still squeak into the Natties, even if they lose to Georgia.

If two of the above lose - Depends on which two, of course, but that could open the door for some combination of Georgia, Miami and Auburn qualifying for the Natties.

If three of the above lose - Chaos and confusion.  Football will cease to exist as we know it, and we'll all have to watch soccer and cricket from now on.

If all four lose - Armageddon.  Grown men will weep and children will renounce their birthright. Cats and dogs will play together, the sun will rise at night and the moon by day. Beelzebub will be the National Champion and frogs will rain from the sky for all of 2018.

Enjoy the games this Saturday!