ATLANTA - It didn't take long for the lobbying to begin.
After losing Saturday's Southeastern Conference championship game 35-28, the Georgia Bulldogs were stating their case for inclusion in the four-team College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs entered Mercedes-Benz Stadium ranked No. 4 and became the first team all season to play the top-ranked Crimson Tide within 22 points.
"Everybody saw what happened out there," Georgia senior cornerback Deandre Baker said. "We know we're one of the top teams in the nation. Hopefully the committee will see the same thing. We just played the No. 1 team to the wire. Nobody else did that."
Georgia's inability to hold a 28-14 advantage could result in Oklahoma slipping past the Bulldogs for the fourth spot and joining Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame in the playoff field. The Sooners improved to 12-1 on Saturday by winning the Big 12 championship 39-27 over Texas, avenging a regular-season defeat to the Longhorns, while the Bulldogs dropped to 11-2 with their defeat.
If Georgia gets the fourth spot, the Bulldogs would face Alabama in a semifinal rematch on Dec. 29. Should Oklahoma get the nod, the Bulldogs would face Texas in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's night.
"It comes down to one thing," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "Do you want the four best teams or not? It's that simple. Give that coach across the sideline today a vote on who he doesn't want to play, and he'll start with us.
"I promise you, you don't want to play us."
Alabama counterpart Nick Saban agreed that both the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs, who met for last season's national championship, should both be in the elite field.
"I sure as hell don't want to play them again, and that's the best compliment I can give them," Saban said.
The four-team field will be revealed today at noon.
Blankenship's botch
Georgia was up 28-14 and had a 345-140 advantage in total yardage with 8:20 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs failed to extend their lead when the usually reliable Rodrigo Blankenship missed a 30-yard field-goal attempt wide left.
"The play clock got a little low, so we changed up the snap count, and I just rushed it," Blankenship said.
When asked if he had the authority to call a timeout when he sensed things being rushed, Blankenship replied, "I think we would rather just take the delay of game. It was a short one. It should be very makeable. We would rather take the delay of game and try it again."
Tucker leaving?
Multiple media outlets reported Saturday that Mel Tucker, who is in his third season as Georgia's defensive coordinator, is the top choice to become Colorado's next head coach, with several online sites reporting a deal already was done.
Colorado's media relations department issued a statement saying Buffaloes athletic director Rick George had not offered the position to anyone and was still in the "discussion and evaluation stages" and won't make a decision until early next week.
The Bulldogs finished sixth nationally last season in total defense (294.9 yards per game) and scoring defense (16.4 points per game), and they entered Saturday ranked 13th in total defense (303.5) and 10th in scoring (17.2).
Record seniors
Alabama's victory Saturday resulted in the 54th career triumph for its senior class, setting a new NCAA record. The Tide's fourth-year players are a staggering 54-3 with at least one more game to play, and they topped the standard set by last year's Alabama class, which went 53-5.
Bulldog bites
Sophomore running back D'Andre Swift rushed 16 times for 75 yards and now has 1,037 yards this season. Junior running back Elijah Holyfield added 60 yards on 14 carries and has 954 yards this season. Georgia dropped to 1-5 all-time against No. 1 teams, with the one triumph coming against Florida in 1985. Senior center Lamont Gaillard started his 41st consecutive game. Baker on Alabama's receivers: "We covered them. They didn't do anything special like they had all year. We covered them better than anybody else."
Tide tidbits
Junior running back Josh Jacobs received MVP honors after rushing eight times for 83 yards. Saban improved to 8-1 in SEC title games, with the loss coming in 2008 to Florida, which went on to win the BCS national championship Alabama's 14-point comeback is the largest ever in an SEC title game, topping the 20-7 deficit Tennessee overcame in its 30-29 win over Auburn in 1997. Junior cornerback Saivion Smith had a career-high 11 tackles. Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa each has 48 career touchdown passes.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.