For the second consecutive year, Georgia will start the college football season as the preseason No. 1 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. That follows two consecutive years when the coaches panel put Alabama at the top preseason ranking only to watch the Bulldogs – its SEC rival – finish No. 1 in the season’s final poll and claim back-to-back national championships. This season marks the third time Georgia has been ranked preseason No. 1 in the 34-year history of USA TODAY Sports administering the coaches poll. Will this year be the charm when then can start and finish in the same spot? History isn’t on their side. More on that shortly.
Georgia’s paths to No. 1 and disappointment
The 2008 preseason poll had Georgia at the top, but they did not hold that position for long. Quickly, Southern California (ranked No. 23 in this year’s poll) overtook the Bulldogs. The alteration followed Georgia’s 24 point victory against Georgia Southern in the season’s first game, but USC thrashed Virginia 52–7 at home. Georgia would drop three games and finish the season in tenth place.
Of course, what a group of 55 head coaches from Football Bowl Subdivision institutions decides in August doesn’t determine who wins a title, but the results of the previous 33 years provide some fascinating information.
Leave a Reply