The latest College Football Playoff selection committee rankings are out and they’re not without controversy. In particular, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum took major issue with the rankings, ripping the committee over Georgia in particular.

While making an appearance on Get Up on Wednesday morning, Finebaum was critical of Georgia being ranked 10th, which is good enough to make it into the Playoff but isn’t as high as it seems like they should be to Finebaum.

“It’s the Georgia Bulldogs because when you showed that graphic,” Paul Finebaum said. You saw Georgia’s opponents all over the place, including Texas, the number three team in the country. They only beat Texas in Texas. Look, they played at Alabama. They lost at Ole Miss. They beat Tennessee. When you look at everyone else, Indiana doesn’t have a ranked team, they’ll get one this weekend. Penn State has lost to one. Every time I get on here every Wednesday morning I say to myself, ‘Calm down. Don’t be an angry guy. Get off your lawn.’”

This season, Georgia has losses to Alabama and Ole Miss. Both of those were road games to teams ranked within the current top 10. Georgia has also, as Finebaum noted, beaten Texas and Tennessee, who are in the top 12 of the rankings

“But this committee is not serious,” Finebaum said. “There are football coaches on this committee and there is no way those football coaches can tell me or anyone else with a straight face that they really think Indiana, Penn State, Miami, schools like that are better than Georgia. It’s not possible.”

At that point, insider Heather Dinich explained some of the logic from the College Football Playoff selection committee. To this point, there has been more emphasis on losses and the eye test, as is exemplified by Indiana, than there seems to be on metrics like strength of record.

“We shouldn’t [be fine with that logic]. Listen, just because there are new members on the committee doesn’t mean they have to do a lousy job and, so far, they have done a lousy job. What they’ve really done is they’ve put Georgia in a box because Georgia doesn’t have another quality opponent, although they’re playing a team in two weeks that beat Miami. They don’t have a route to get higher,” Finebaum said. “Why is that important? Yeah, they’re in the Playoff, but they’ll start the Playoff on the road at Penn State, at Indiana, at one of these schools that, in my opinion, really haven’t done anything. If Indiana has a great game Saturday, good for them, but I don’t think they will and they should not be where they are based on their schedule so far because they have beaten no one so far.”

Georgia has two regular season games remaining against UMass and Georgia Tech. Assuming that the Bulldogs win both of those games, they’ll be in a good position to make the Playoff but there could be some concerns about seeding.

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Tane Bidois from Sydney, Australia, has signed a letter of intent to swim and study at the University of Georgia. He will arrive in Athens in the second half of the 2024-25 season.

“The team is like one big family. It’s definitely a move out of my comfort zone but having never swam in short course yards before, I’m looking forward to going fast and experiencing the NCAA hype.”

Bidois graduated from Knox Grammar School in December 2022. He had previously committed to Arizona for fall 2024 but requested a release from his NLI and will now begin at Georgia in January.

He swims year-round with the club team Knox Pymble Swim Club and specializes mainly in freestyle and backstroke. At the Australian Short Course Championships in September, he placed 6th in the 50 back, 21st in the 50 free, 21st in the 100 free, and 25th in the 100 back and updated his SCM times in the 50 free (22.02), 100 free (49.29), 50 back (24.78), and 100 back (54.04).

In long course, Bidois qualified for Australian Olympic Trials in the 50 free, 100 free, and 100 back. He finaled in the 50 free (14th) and clocked a PB in the 100 back (56.25), coming in 17th in prelims. At the Australian Open Championships in April, he finaled in the 50 free (13th), 100 free (24th), 50 back (10th), 100 back (11th), and 50 fly (16th). He improved his best times in the 50 free (22.67), 100 free (50.10), 50 back (26.12), 100 back (56.43, which he lowered at Trials), and 50 fly (24.43).

Bidois represented Australia at the 9th World Aquatics Junior Championships in Netanya in September 2023, making the semi-finals in the 50 free and swimming a leg on the 4×100 free relay.

Describing his motivation for his decision, Bidois told SwimSwam, “I think for me my decision was based off the opportunity to swim and study in the one place, being surrounded by a super positive and uplifting culture. I perform well in the pool when I’m surrounded by people/coaches with the same goals and motivation as me so when I visited Georgia last month I felt right at home and knew that this was the right place for me. I like to live by the rule to never have any regrets – you never know until you try, so after visiting I knew it was a no brainer.”

Bidois will join the Bulldogs’ class of 2028 with divers Aiden Sadler and Bo Bridges and swimmers Drew Hitchcock (#5 in the class of 2024), Elliot Woodburn, Kyler Heffner, and Will Gavin.

Best LCM times (converted):

• 50 free – 22.67 (19.70)
• 100 free – 50.10 (43.69)
• 50 back – 26.12 (22.99)
• 100 back – 56.25 (49.59)
• 50 fly – 24.43 (21.37)

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CONWAY, S.C. (WMBF) – Coastal Carolina is making a special gesture to those who serve our country and communities ahead of the football team’s home finale this weekend.

The Chanticleers will offer free tickets to military members and first responders for Saturday’s game against Georgia Southern at Brooks Stadium.

Those eligible for the free tickets can secure them through CCU’s website, contacting the Chanticeler Athletics Office by phone at 843-347-8499 or by email at tickets@coastal.edu and using the promo code: military.

“Coastal Carolina is proud to honor the men and women who serve our nation,” Coastal Carolina Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics and University Recreation Chance Miller said in a statement. “Our Salute to Service game is an opportunity to show our gratitude to the military, their families, and first responders for their dedication and sacrifice. Providing complimentary tickets is a small way to thank them for their contributions to our country and our community.”

Saturday’s game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN+

Stay with WMBF News for updates.

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