Kirby Smart’s team, to nobody’s shock, took it on the chin in Tuesday night’s new College Football Playoff rankings just like it took it on the chin in Saturday’s loss at Ole Miss.

When the new CFP rankings were released on Tuesday night, the Bulldogs plummeted 9 spots to No. 12, paying dearly for that 28-10 loss in Oxford. Georgia dropped to 7-2 on Saturday night, but the more notable drop came 3 days later, as the Bulldogs fell out of the 12-team bracket that would qualify for the Playoff next month. For now, No. 13 Boise State would get the 12th seed, the final CFP spot, as the Mountain West champion.

The positive in all this for the Bulldogs is that they have a huge showdown game coming fast on Saturday night at home against Tennessee, so there is a golden opportunity for Smart’s team to bounce back and impress the Playoff committee at the same time. And that was Smart’s focus on the SEC weekly teleconference when he was asked about the new CFP rankings.

“Didn’t watch it. No excuses,” said Smart. “Focus on this week and Tennessee. Playing on the road in this league is extremely difficult.”

Both of Georgia’s losses this season have come on the road, with the Bulldogs also losing at Alabama in that SEC classic back in late September.

Georgia’s new Playoff ranking is its lowest since the Bulldogs were unranked during the 2016 season. They were ranked no lower than No. 9 since the 2017 season.