Kirk Herbstreit wondered during ESPN’s College Football Playoff rankings release show if the pregame narrative around Georgia may have played a factor into how the Bulldogs approached the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

While Georgia was No. 1 for much of the season, the discussion among fans and media leading up to Saturday was that even if Georgia lost, it would still be in the Playoff. That ultimately proved to be true.

“I’m not taking anything away from what Alabama did,” Herbstreit said. “But you wonder as those teams take the field, one team’s playing for their life and that’s Nick Saban. Hearing about how they didn’t have a chance. The other team knew if they lost, they were going to be at 2 or 3. Wonder if that played into the emotions of the game. Alabama won the game, they outplayed them, but I don’t know, they’ve been so dominant all year.”

As it stands, Georgia will meet Michigan in one semifinal on Dec. 31.