By: JJ Lanier

TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services

“If you don’t want to be left out, don’t give those who makes the decisions a reason to leave you out.”

I was 14 years old and had been left off the 14-15 year old baseball all-star team I felt I deserved to make, when my Dad uttered those words. It’s a lesson that is as pertinent today as it was on that long drive home all those years ago. It’s a lesson that Georgia fans are currently finding themselves being thrust into learning.

Over the course of the season Georgia accomplished enough to justify their inclusion into the playoffs. Besides having an excellent overall record, they played a tremendous game against Alabama, and if you go by the ever popular “eye test”, you’d be hard pressed to find four teams you would place above the Bulldogs.

On the flip side, Georgia also showed enough to validate the committee’s hesitation to put them into the playoffs.

One of the main arguments being made to include Georgia in the playoffs is the Alabama game. And yes, for the first thirty-five minutes Georgia looked like the superior team.

But, what about the other twenty-five minutes, when the Tide outscored them 21-0? If we’re going to credit Georgia for the beginning of the game, we have to hold them accountable for the end.

As for the eye test, I’ll be the first to admit they played like one of the best four teams throughout the year, but how many times have we seen games and tournaments where the best team didn’t win. I mean, that’s kind of why they play the game, right?

If we judged winners simply by who the better team was, there’d be no reason to keep score. We’d just watch the game and declare the winner based on who we thought was the more complete team. Outcomes are important, win or lose.

Plus, the eye test really only matters when you have two equally accomplished teams, which wasn’t the case. Oklahoma finished their season with a better record than Georgia and was able to avenge their only loss on their way to winning their conference championship; basically, identical to what the Bulldogs did last year.

As great as Georgia may have looked against Alabama, and as great of an impression as they left on those who watched the game, they still didn’t do the most important thing, which is win.

I know people want to knock Notre Dame and their schedule too, but they did play four Top 25 teams, plus two other teams that played in their conference championship games.

I’m not saying their schedule was the most difficult, but they didn’t play schools like “Napoleon Dynamite’s School for Dance” or the “University of Underwater Basket Weaving” either.

It’s been twenty-five years since I learned that difficult lesson, but I was able to use it as motivation and I’m sure the Georgia program will to.

Honestly, I’d be shocked if Georgia isn’t a repeat participant in the playoffs; there have been a lot of familiar names since the playoffs were formed.

It’s easier than said than done, but in most cases it’s not so much about flaunting your accomplishments, as it is making sure you minimize your failures.

They can’t keep you out of the playoffs if you don’t give them a reason not to let you in- just look at Notre Dame. Otherwise you only have yourself to blame.