Georgia stays atop AP Poll for third straight week
Georgia is still on top in the AP Poll, but like the Coaches Poll, the gap between the Bulldogs at No. 1 and Alabama at No. 2 has shrunk. After taking over the top spot in Week 3 and getting 59 of the 64 votes for first place last week, Georgia only received 55 of those this week. That’s because the Bulldogs didn’t look quite as strong on Saturday against Kent State, beating the Golden Flashes 39-22 while the Crimson Tide topped Vanderbilt 55-3. No. 3 Ohio State also impressed with a 52-21 win over Wisconsin and received a greater number of first-place votes than it did last week.
Michigan, followed by Clemson, USC, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma State and NC State, rounds out the top 10. It is the exact same top-10 as the Coaches Poll.
Looking through the rankings to find Georgia’s future opponents, and past opponents, is always an exercise that we do. Kentucky comes in as the highest ranked of those in this category at No. 7, followed right behind by No. 8 Tennessee. The Vols jumped three spots with their win over Florida on Saturday while the Gators dropped out of the poll. Oregon is also ranked coming in at No. 13.
“I’ll open with a lot of respect for Kent State going into the game and just as much respect coming out of it. I thought they were a good football team, very disciplined, very physical. A really good brand of football,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs’ win over Kent State on Saturday. “I always tell our kids you turn on the special teams tape on Sunday and you find out who you’re playing. We thought they were a really good football team and they proved that today. We also played the entire game without punting the ball once. Really had four turnovers when you consider the fake punt included on that. You’re not going to grow up and mature…this was a growth week for us. We really talked about growth the entire week. I was very pleased with how our guys approached the practice and the games and the leadership. I was really proud of how we came out in the second half and got a three and out then the offense made a great drive all the way down but just didn’t cash it in for a touchdown. We got some costly penalties and turnovers that hurt us. But our team got better today. That was the key for me to say, did our team get better today and I can honestly say we played a good opponent and we got better.”
AP Top 25 Poll following Week 4:
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Ohio State Buckeyes
- Michigan Wolverines
- Clemson Tigers
- USC Trojans
- Kentucky Wildcats
- Tennessee Volunteers
- Oklahoma State Cowboys
- NC State Wolfpack
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Utah Utes
- Oregon Ducks
- Ole Miss Rebels
- Washington Huskies
- Baylor Bears
- Texas A&M Aggies
- Oklahoma Sooners
- BYU Cougars
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- Minnesota Golden Gophers
- Wake Forest Demon Deacons
- Florida State Seminoles
- Pittsburgh Panthers
- Kansas State Wildcats
Georgia is back in action this week and on the road traveling to Missouri. The game against the Tigers kicks off a stretch of seven straight SEC games for the Bulldogs between now and the final week of the regular season when they’ll take on Georgia Tech. Kickoff time Saturday from Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
