ATHENS — Georgia finished SEC play with a better record this season than it did in 2024 when the Bulldogs won the SEC.

Georgia went 7-1 in league games, with the final coming over Texas on Saturday night by a 35-10 margin. The victory, coupled with an Alabama loss, pushed Georgia up to No. 4 in the AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 13.

Georgia is also No. 4 in the Coaches Poll this week. The College Football Playoff rankings will be updated on Tuesday. Georgia was previously No. 5.

The three teams ranked about Georgia are all unbeaten. The Bulldogs could potentially get a chance to climb over No. 3 Texas A&M if the two teams could meet in the SEC championship game.

Despite some outside concerns, Georgia will always want a chance at winning the league title. Georgia has gone to four consecutive SEC championship games and would love to make it five.

“They’ve gotten better. A lot of teams in the country, it’s hard to keep getting better this time of year,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “You start questioning what I’m doing. I mean, let’s be honest, we’re two months from the portal opening. I mean, there’s kids that are like, I don’t know if I really want to go out here and get better. I’m not talking about Texas now, I’m talking about just in college football. That has not been the approach of our team.

“They continue to get better. They continue to grow, work hard, believe in each other.”

But Georgia is going to need some help if it is to make it to Atlanta for a fifth consecutive season.

The cleanest paths involve losses by either Texas A&M or Alabama. Neither team plays an SEC game next week, but they both go on the road for one final SEC game. Texas A&M visits Texas on Nov. 28, with Alabama traveling to Auburn on Nov. 29.

There is also a world where Georgia goes to Atlanta due to the winning percentage of its conference foes in the event that Georgia finds itself in a three-team tiebreaker with Ole Miss and Alabama. Those two teams also have one conference loss. Following Oklahoma’s win over Alabama, Texas A&M is the only unbeaten team in conference play.

Conference championships won’t carry the same weight as last season, which helped ensure Georgia a first-round bye after an overtime win over Texas. This is a world now where Georgia doesn’t play in the SEC championship game but could still possibly get a first-round bye for the College Football Playoff.

As for what is left on Georgia’s regular season schedule, the Bulldogs have a home game against Charlotte next week before facing Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz on Nov. 28.

Georgia’s game against Charlotte is set for a 12:45 p.m. ET kickoff.

You can see the full AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 13 below.

AP Poll Top 25 rankings for Week 13