Georgia Has a Case for Number One

After two emphatic wins over inferior opponents is it enough to make Georgia the top team in the country?

It didn't take long for talk about Georgia potentially becoming the number one team in the country after Saturday to begin. Not only was the dominant performance of the Bulldogs impressive, but it was following Alabama's less than impressive win over Florida. 

Then number one ranked Crimson Tide opened this past week as a -15 point favorite on most sports betting sites for their road game against the University of Florida. The Gators were the eleventh-ranked team in the country heading into the game with unsettled quarterback play through two weeks. However, after Alabama thrashed Miami in week one, many thought the Tide would keep rolling against Florida. 

The latter part turned out not to be the case as Florida came out of halftime down 21-9 after a missed extra point in the second quarter; Alabama was looking like they were on the brink of going above that 15-point spread handed out by the oddsmakers.

Except Florida would rattle off three second-half touchdowns failing to score on a two-point conversion attempt that would've put the two teams level with about three minutes left in the game. 

Alabama's lackluster second half makes many wonder if the Tide should be the number one team in the new AP Poll heading into week four. Georgia's performance, on the other hand, helps strengthen their case for the No. 1 spot. 

In the opening game of conference play against South Carolina, Georgia beat the Gamecocks with a 40-point offensive, couple that with the return of JT Daniels, who finished with three touchdowns, going 23/31, throwing for 303 yards, Georgia's offensive looked untouchable at times as the efficient Daniels confidently took shots downfield, two of those downfield shots resulted in explosive passing touchdowns, and opening up the Gamecocks defense to help out the running game. 

In years past, South Carolina could've been viewed as a "trap" game where Georgia's high expectations could come crashing back down to Earth after a disappointing loss to an inferior opponent, like in 2019 where South Carolina knocked off then number three ranked Georgia in overtime after a missed field goal from Rodrigo Blankenship. 

Despite the possibility for overconfidence and arrogance to creep in, Georgia jumped on the Gamecocks early and didn't let up until the game was out of reach in the fourth quarter. 

The decisive nature of Georgia's win could ultimately be the most robust case for Georgia taking the perch atop of College Football in the polls, following Clemson's near disaster of a loss to Georgia Tech in the final seconds of the game.

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