Why Georgia Still Deserves Its No. 1 Ranking

Georgia remains on top of the polls for another week after defeating Auburn 27-20 on Saturday.

Kyle Funderburk | Oct 2, 2023

For the fifth time this season, Georgia retained the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. However, its ranking in the AP Poll is under fire this week as the Bulldogs only received 35 first-place votes.

Right or wrong, there's a heavy push to knock Georgia out of the top spot because of its low-scoring first quarters and inability to convincingly beat its "mediocre" SEC rivals. Meanwhile, No. 2 Michigan hasn't allowed more than seven points once this season, and No. 3 Texas has two ranked wins, including a win over Alabama.

Yet, despite the Wolverines and Longhorns being much more dominant than Georgia, the Bulldogs are still No. 1 in the polls. Why is that the case? Is it just the winning streak?

Georgia is on the longest active winning streak in the nation with 22 straight victories. Only three other Power-5 schools have double-digit winning streaks. Beyond that streak, the Bulldogs have won 38 of their last 39 games. Another loss is inevitable, but that's true for every team and the voters know that.

Georgia is just a safer bet, but there are other factors that make it more reliable for the voters.

Other Teams Have Questions Too

Michigan is basically Georgia with a weaker schedule up to this point. The Wolverines led Bowling Green 7-6 up until the 4:15 mark in the second quarter; and trailed Rutgers 7-0 after just a minute. Michigan pulled away to win both games convincingly, but they didn't dominate for four quarters either.

Texas has been very fortunate this year. The Longhorns dominated Alabama, and you cannot take that away from them, but the Crimson Tide are just now cleaning up their quarterback situation and clearly didn't fully trust Jalen Milroe at the time. Since that game, Texas hasn't played a team with their starting quarterback. What will the Longhorn defense look like against an offense with their starter?

Then there's Florida State and Ohio State. The Seminoles have avoided upsets of their own, while its biggest win of the year doesn't look so great today. And the Buckeyes have had similar first-half struggles as the Bulldogs this year.

No one really stands out as the elite team of college football this season, which circles back to the first point: Georgia is just more reliable.

Mykel Williams leaves Jordan-Hare with Mykel Willimas waving good-bye to Auburn fans.

Resiliency

Kirby Smart's keywords for the Georgia football program are composure, resiliency, toughness and connection. Those four words are instilled in each player in the Bulldogs' locker room. Because of that, Georgia doesn't just win, it finds ways to win.

Going back to the 2022 National Championship Game, no moment has ever been too big for the Bulldogs. The team never gets rattled when trailing; you don't see too many inexcusable penalties or crippling mistakes. Now, the 2023 squad has trailed in SEC play twice and come out on top.

Depth and conditioning

When it comes down to it, the polls are meant to be a rolling prediction of the national championship. Georgia is still No. 1 because most voters still believe it is the best team in America, and they believe that in large part because of the team's depth and conditioning.

As the season wears on, those two words will become more and more critical. Over the last two years, the Bulldogs have proved to be the deepest and most well-conditioned team in the nation. It's been "next man up" every time someone got injured; when Georgia found itself in tight games in the playoffs, it dominated the fourth quarter. Saturday, the last 20 minutes of the game belonged to Georgia.

Texas and Florida State might be "back," but this is their first year back. Michigan is a great team and has made the playoffs two years in a row, but it succumbed in the semi-finals both years.

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Published Oct 2, 2023

KYLE FUNDERBURK