Rankings prove Georgia has lost benefit of doubt
Georgia's Mark Richt doesn't have to wonder what it's going to take to pass Georgia Tech and Paul Johnson: win. (AJC photo)
(Last update: 2:10 p.m.)
In two weeks, this becomes less about perception than reality.
Games start, the season unfolds, myths get busted, the guy on the bar stool who never said a word before suddenly says I told you so, a Big 12 coach locks a player in the broom closet and eventually we get to January and scream about the BCS. It’s college football’s circle of life.
But for now, it is about perceptions, and this much has become clear: Pollsters believe Georgia Tech has passed Georgia on the football field.
This is what consecutive years of failed expectations and a five-loss season will do to a program.
When last season ended in Shreveport, the Bulldogs were not ranked in the final Associated Press poll for the first time since 1996. That also left them behind the Jackets (13th) for the first time since 2000.
When this season begins, Georgia will trail Tech in the preseason polls for the first time since 2001, which is the year Mark Richt was hired. The AP’s preseason rankings were released Saturday. They’re similar to the coaches’ poll that came out two weeks ago, which had Tech ranked 17th and Georgia 21st. The gap in the AP poll is a bit wider: The Jackets are 16th and the Dogs are No. 23.
It’s worth nothing that the AP is no longer part of the BCS formula, having pulled out after the 2004 season because of the illogical selection process, to say nothing of the fact orchestrating a No. 1 vs. No. 2 game and rendering all other bowls relatively insignificant is just a bad idea. But the AP still is the most watched preseason and in-season poll, and it fuels what many previously believed:
Georgia has lost the benefit of the doubt.
This bit of reality won’t go over well in Athens. Richt inherited a program that hadn’t won an SEC championship since 1982. He proceeded to win two in his first five seasons. Then Georgia finished strong in 2007 to end the year at No. 2. Such cachet tends to carry over in polls from year to year.
But a preseason No. 1 ranking in 2008 turned out to be only a gateway to lopsided losses to Alabama and Florida, and a home upset by Georgia Tech (in coach Paul Johnson’s first season). Then came last year’s tumble to 8-5. Richt began to feel some heat for really the first time in his tenure. The Dogs now are at a prove-it stage. At Tech, most assume the arrow is pointed up. In Georgia, few are assuming anything.
The Jackets are 20-7 in Johnson’s first two seasons and went 11-3 with an ACC championship last season. They lost four stars (Demaryius Thomas, Jonathan Dwyer, Derrick Morgan, Morgan Burnett) to the NFL draft. But perceptions remain that they’re better than Georgia. Why?
“We won more games than they did last year,” Johnson logically concluded Saturday morning, when asked about the recent coaches’ poll.
Asked if he cared about perceptions, he gave the expected response: “Not really. I just worry about what I perceive and what actually happens. I’m more worried about what happens at the end of the year. Being ranked before somebody at the beginning might be nice, but I’d rather be ranked in front of them at the end.”
Since the non-ranking in 2001, the Dogs have ranked No. 8, 11, 3, 13, 15, 13, 1 and 13 in the preseason under Richt. At 23, they’re now closer to the “others receiving votes” category with Connecticut, Temple and Middle Tennessee State.
“I am thankful we are ranked,” Richt said Saturday when asked about the AP poll. He added, “I hope we play well enough to move up. That’s the plan.”
That’s the way to play this. Richt raised the expectation level at Georgia. This shows how missteps in consecutive seasons can significantly alter public opinion. Georgia finished out of the rankings four consecutive seasons (1993-96), but when it finished 10th in 1997, the Dogs suddenly were back in the preseason rankings in 1998 (19th) for the first time in five years.
It figured there would be a hangover after last season. The preseason rankings might be cause for debate, but that’s what rankings are all about. There’s no reason for Georgia to scream. In two weeks, the games start, and the Dogs will have a chance to change perceptions.
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688 comments Add your comment
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
August 21st, 2010
12:14 pm
I was always embarrassed when we’d go out for a walk and would see those signs about picking up doggy p00p but now I understand they are putting up signs on campus about picking up tons of trash and litter left by fans attending the games. You don’t have to have a painted a$$ to understand how trashy it is to trash the campus every weekend. If I am declared official mascot I will work to bring about change you can believe in.
Termigator
August 21st, 2010
12:14 pm
How2, just think; two teams that DID NOT win the SEC East, beat the two contenders in the ACC Championship game. How funny is that?
superDawg
August 21st, 2010
12:14 pm
schultz you don’t even rank.
SOGADOG
August 21st, 2010
12:16 pm
On one hand, UGA has lost the benefit of the doubt with pollsters and I believe it has more to do with the way the Dawgs played the last few years than with win loss records. The atrocious turn over ratio, lack of sound fundamentals such as poor blocking and tackling, soft defense and the numerous bone headed penalties have hurt the Dawg’s reputation with the pollsters. However, these issues stem from coaching and they are correctable. We will see if Grantham and company can turn these problems around.
On the other hand, the Dawgs kicked Tech’s three letter word last year, so you can’t say the Dawgs have fallen below Tech. I would have to say the Dawgs were the better team last year since they beat Tech head to head and had a much more difficult schedule. Although UGA went 8-5 compared to Tech’s 11-3, UGA played more challenging SEC competition and non conference foes such as OK State and Az State. Given the strenth of schedule (SEC vs ACC) and the fact the Dawgs whipped Tech, I would say the Dawgs were the better program last year.
Termigator
August 21st, 2010
12:16 pm
superdawg, he might not rank but Shultzie makes money every time we hit on his blog.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
August 21st, 2010
12:16 pm
dawgfan
Care to open with USC or OU on the road…..that’s right, I think not. Also, both of these programs have a zillion national titles as compared to your one 1980 title.
All UGA fans can do is criticize other programs, instead of their own program. “We have met the enemy and it is us.”
Nurse Ratchet
August 21st, 2010
12:18 pm
Well if one poll says the dawgs are number 3 I guess that that settles it. That should make some dawg fans happy.I thought it was interesting that the reason for not being number 1 was Murray. So if Joe Cox was back he would have ranked them number 1?
Tai
August 21st, 2010
12:19 pm
UGA folks can brag all you want to about beating Tech in football most years, and that’s perfectly fair. What’s also fair is to point out that with a history of Jan Kemp (Vince Dooley days), Jim Harrick, and now Damon Evans, UGA is truly “The Cesspool of the South,” and is richly deserving of that title. No one outside of Georgia has any respect for UGA or its athletic department, and that is a fact. It has been said many times: “Tech people are proud of their school, Georgia people are proud of their team.” What a legacy to be proud of!
UGA fans can now return to your mobile home parks and resume waiting for your unemployment checks and food stamps.
And watching those red panties falling from the sky, always a good time-killer for thUGA dawgtards. :-) :-) :-)
Rodney Dangerfield Dawg
August 21st, 2010
12:19 pm
Gamechickens W & L all time record is 535 – 535 . You know its bad for UGA when their fans say “IF” we can get by SC .
9 outta 10
August 21st, 2010
12:19 pm
Hey scorekeeper did you keep score last year?
How bout this score
30-24 9 outta 10
30-24 9 outta 10
30-24 9 outta 10
30-24 9 outta 10
30-24 9 outta 10
30-24 9 outta 10
Victor
August 21st, 2010
12:20 pm
I think ga is ranked too high. They lost to ken at home last year and thump their chest on beating a 6-6 am team that finished with a losing record. Ark beat AM last year 47-19.
I think tech will lose a couple and I think ga will lost at least 4 probably 5 again. It could be worse. Murray wasn’t good enough to play last year. I would be concerned with him especially having a game at SC 2nd week. I don’t think they win that. I won’t be surprised for uga to beat la laf easily and the fan base gets all crazy and talks trash about how they will beat sc and run the table and then they go to columbia and lose badly. It’s typcial for a uga fan to do this.
poopdawg
August 21st, 2010
12:20 pm
Tech vs UGA will be settled on the field not by a bunch childish fans. I hate to admit it but this is a fair article by Schultz. I agree with Tim winning will help UGA’s perception.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
August 21st, 2010
12:21 pm
No real surprises here, although I think GT will land around 10-2 or 9-3, while UGA should do about the same. UGA fans need to get away from bragging about conferences and worry about teams. Just take OSU last year during the opener, you know, the weak Big 12.
Does anyone recall what Utah did to Alabama in the Sugar a few years ago? Let me remind you, they destroyed Alabama, I mean destroyed them, now what power conference did Utah come from? Mountain West…power conference…so do not tell me about power conferences.
how2fish
August 21st, 2010
12:21 pm
Termigator I always wonder how we did as well as we did in 08 no excuses but we did have 15+ season ending injuries to players half of them starters and won 10 games ..really how many programs could have done that in 08 outside the Gators,and maybe Texas and Ohio State
bigdawg
August 21st, 2010
12:22 pm
I’m surprised my Dogs are ranked that high! We shall see.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2010
12:22 pm
9 outta 10 – It’s actually 8 out of 12, 1998 – 2009.
Gator C
August 21st, 2010
12:23 pm
I think it all depends on how their qb is. Coach didn’t think he was ready last year. I think he will have a rough year but that’s expected being his first year. I wouldn’t get your hopes up. I think another 7-5 season is in the cards. Possibly 8-4. I think you will lose one of the early games, then a loss to us, and 2 losses to cu, aub or gt.
Russ, the Temporary Mascot
August 21st, 2010
12:23 pm
I took a front row seat at the college mascot’s meeting and was asked to move back to the Shreveport Section. I am pretty small and it was hard to see over Buzz and some of those other mascots up front. Having this painted a$$ only makes things worse.
Gene
August 21st, 2010
12:24 pm
It’s all over! Tech wins it all!!
Tech officials generally have done an excellent job keeping the practice fields clear of fans, media and coaches from outside the program, but an intruder breeched Rose Bowl Field on Thursday.
Actually, New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, a three-time Super Bowl winner as a head coach and an acquaintance of Johnson, was invited. He visited practice before the Patriots defeated the Falcons on Thursday night in as exhibition game at the Georgia Dome.
“He talked to us. I was impressed,” Nesbitt said. “He told us to remember there’s always somebody working harder.”
Mike Bobo 17 INT
August 21st, 2010
12:24 pm
UGA is setting low goals when they brag about beating GT. If GT begins to dominate your program, which they probably will, because they have a better head coach, then that is like Texas getting drilled by TCU year after year.
Look, UGA has never received any respect from teh polls or professional media outlets, and never will. Why? Because, your mouths are bigger than your brains and you cannot back it up. You have had a load of talent the past 10 years and di nothing with it. Exhibit “A” your honor.
poopdawg
August 21st, 2010
12:25 pm
Victor do you typically act like an ass?
how2fish
August 21st, 2010
12:25 pm
Tai you worthless coward..you spew that drivel and can’t even do it under the same name twice…please go walk in traffic.
Urban & Nick & Les
August 21st, 2010
12:26 pm
Yes there is always someone working harder….. Care to go swiming at the Ramsey ?
Mike Bobo 17 INT
August 21st, 2010
12:27 pm
UGA is ranked way too high, and there is rumor that adjustments are coming down the pipe.
Anyone seen my Oakleys, blue jean shorts, tank top, goatie trimmer, white socks, black tennis shoes and Big G hat? I need it for the UGA opener against Agnes Scott in Sanford Stadium.
Mike Bobo 17 INT
August 21st, 2010
12:29 pm
Where is Altamah Dog? Guess he got smart and chose another team.
Dawgan, you might want to take a good look at moving teams, like Valdosta State, North Alabama or West Georgia, which are better program.
I would love to see UGA open with North Alabama and drop the season opener. What about Appalachian State? No dice.
Rodney Dangerfield Dawg
August 21st, 2010
12:30 pm
Mike Bobo 17 int…… Those items you speak of are on sale at the local Walmart.
Termigator
August 21st, 2010
12:31 pm
Tai, you are a Pakistani tool. UGA is just as fine an Institution as Tech. How would you like to wager that their are more corporate CEO’s with UGA degrees than Tech degrees?
9 outta 10
August 21st, 2010
12:31 pm
Hey Delbert D.
Oooooooooh 8 outta 12 sounds soooooo much better
how far you wanna go back? How bout:
15 outta 20
22 outta 30
No matter how far you go back it ain’t good for Tech. Uga leads series 60-37-5
That’s domination, my friend
59bulldawg
August 21st, 2010
12:32 pm
Don’t agree with it. Think we will be better this year. But certainly understand it after last year. We do have something to prove and for Richt’s sake I hope the boys in red and black can come through.
Termigator
August 21st, 2010
12:34 pm
59bulldawg, you got a hell of an AD. He actually worries me though because he learned from the best in Foley. I’ll bet you after he gets his feet set, all of the Head Coaches will feel some heat.
Gravy Train
August 21st, 2010
12:35 pm
I like the rankings. Put ‘em up in the weight house and the locker room. Just means a bigger bug for the squashing, like usual. Wait until the writers see this D in action. Four deep at the RB spot. All the dozers back up front. Murray has a plethora of playmakers to choose from. It’s gonna be a great season.
hotbobby
August 21st, 2010
12:38 pm
We’ll get it handed to us by SC and Ark, and finish out of the top 30. Then we can thank our fine disciplinarian joke we call a coach for another crappy year!
What??
August 21st, 2010
12:39 pm
I d believe that the discussion about preseason poll ranking is subjective.
If you are ranked #1, or in the top 5, life is great and fans tend to believe in the polls and argue the validity of the poll.
If you are not ranked very high, like UGA this year, fans do not agree with the poll and state that the polls are not worth a penny.
So……….. fans act a lot like politicians when it comes to the polls!
Dawg Tired
August 21st, 2010
12:41 pm
Jeff, you wrote: “He logically concluded, ‘We won more games than they did last year’.” Might I suggest that is not very logical if the idea behind a poll is to rank teams in order of how good they are. The best “logical’ indication of that would be the result of the game between the two teams themselves. Strength of schedule should also be relevant. I assume almost every reasonable person, much less a sports journalist, would agree the SEC is a stronger conference than the ACC. I could go on, but why when some one who supposedly makes his living keeping tract of things in the sports world thinks what CPJ said is actually logical. Ability to think analytically is apparently more difficult than I thought. I’m going with the team winning the game being the best team most of the time, unless something weird or wacky happens that skews the end result.
Chris
August 21st, 2010
12:41 pm
All of this which team is better stuff is crap. Football is about matchups. This is why you see so many circular win patterns. Yes UGA did beat GT although only by a touchdown and a dropped pass. But UGA got spanked by Tennessee, who got spanked by Virginia Tech, who lost to the same GT that lost to UGA. It just depends on the personnel you have to run your schemes. A team is measured by its overall season. Did it upset me when GT lost to UGA? Of course! But it still doesn’t diminish the value of winning on ACC title. UGA and GT are being judged in the preseason based on how they did overall last season. Not how they did against each other. And to be frank, the fact that both programs are being ranked in almost all national polls to me is a great sign of respect for our entire state and the level of football we have here in our two institutions.
Boo Boo's boo's from Sanford Stadium.
August 21st, 2010
12:42 pm
I cant wait and see how long will it take our new AD to crack his whip and no longer settle for a football program that is underachieving.
Cuttysark
August 21st, 2010
12:45 pm
The Yellow Jackets will have a difficult schedule heading into November, but with players recruited by Paul Johnson, and Al Groh in charge of the defense, they will have another opportunity to play for the ACC Championship if they can knock off the Hokies in Blacksburg who should be rated in the top 5. For more Georgia Tech Football articles go to http://isportsweb.com. Go Jackets!
ATLnative
August 21st, 2010
12:48 pm
We Bulldogs run this state and we’ll see you larvae in Nov. Bring it on….make sure and pass a lot in the 4th. That allows us to bark more at game’s end to celebrate another W.
Beast from the East
August 21st, 2010
1:00 pm
Fair rankings for both schools considering what each accomplished last year and the questions that both have coming into this year. That being said, I do think UGA has an opportunity to pass GT in the polls by the end of the season IF they play to their potential. That’s a BIG if based on the past couple of years. My Gators are ranked a little higher than I would expect. Should be somehwere between 7-12. All this will change after a few weeks anyway, so no matter.
Dirty Dawg
August 21st, 2010
1:03 pm
Hey tai, just why do you think you have to bf your rant about Georgia? You think you’ve got to shout in order to have people pay attention to you? Georgia’s reputation is doing just fine thank you, regardless of Mr. Evan’s journey into ‘Tigerland’ – namely, thinking you can do no wrong. As for Ms. Kemp, she took exception to Georgia’s use of it’s ‘remedial’ program to keep ballplayers eligible longer than perhaps they should have been – a practice still being used at many other schools by the way. Of course our friends at Tech take a little different tact…like using the Atlanta University Center group – like Morehouse and Spellman – to have it’s players take difficult courses so that they can remain eligible too, or even to bury the records that would show that whole groups of players aren’t eligible even though they were still playing. By the way, did any of those guys actually lose any eligibility, or did all that get discovered ‘after’ they had used theirs up? Tell us tai, is that the kind of things Tech people are so proud of?
Trust me, we’re very proud of our ’school’, as I’m sure Tech people are – I mean you’d have to be proud if you’re willing to paint yourself yaller and wear diapers and fright wigs for you’re Mommas and Daddies to see you on TV – of course you probably figure that they won’t recognize you.
As for Georgia’s losing ‘the benefit of the doubt’. Suppose your right Schultz, we lost that ‘right’ a couple of years ago when our success from the year before caused us to be ‘inaccurately’ rated at the top going in…that, along with a lot of injuries, questionable calls and poor tackling…resulted in our falling out of the top ten by the end of the year. So what if we’re rated behind Tech going in. As Johnson said, they won more games and they won the ACC…then again, we know who the better team of the two was because we were there that Saturday night after Thanksgiving last November. A fact that hasn’t escaped Mr. Johnson and that will be born out again this year.
As for you Mr. Schultz, we can also count on you to never miss a chance to get the fight started with us…a fact that we won’t forget when it comes to who gets a gatorade bath if you should happen to venture near the team’s locker room following a game one day…ala Dion Sanders and Tim McCarver…maybe even two.
UGA VIII
August 21st, 2010
1:04 pm
Russ your 15 minutes are over. Clean up my house on your way out, and take that nasty yellow jacket chew toy with you. I’m bringing my own gator.
nash
August 21st, 2010
1:05 pm
when did s. car and ark become touch teams?
HOUDAWG
August 21st, 2010
1:09 pm
Well , of course the Dawgs have lost benefit of doubt —– with the AJC, typical — typical ….. ! You’ll always take any opportunity to hold up Tech ; slam UGA ……. the AP just gave more impetus …..
Red Panties Rick
August 21st, 2010
1:13 pm
Frankly, what tells me most about the direction these two programs are going is that too many of UGA’s coverage concerns things happening off the field of play, while Georgia Tech’s mostly concern things happening on the field. “Prison Lite” doth not a football program make…..
bufbox
August 21st, 2010
1:13 pm
We are better than 23 I feei, but understand about losing the benefit of the doubt. Just hung on to Martinez to long is biggest reason.
athensdawg
August 21st, 2010
1:14 pm
the truth hurts, people.
i will admit, i was a typical delusional georgia fan.
then we were ranked #1 in preseason and ended up playing michigan state in orlando.
then i started to think back about how every year we have great expectations but never live up to them.
or, how we have no expectations and appear to have a great season underway and have one brain fart game against South Carolina, Auburn, and or Tennessee. Then, we sit around and talk about ‘what if..’…when we aren’t making excuses for why we get our butts handed to us every year in jacksonville.
Now, I have no delusions. I am thankful this year that we started the preseason ranked.
I have no faith in Mike Bobo’s play calling. The pass play on 3rd and short with 300+ yards rushing and the game on the line vs GT eroded whatever faith I had left.
We have a new quarterback, and we have an untested defensive coordinator.
We were supposed to have a ‘dominating’ offensive line for the last, oh….10 years of Mark Richt’s tenure, but somehow, injuries occur and we end up with nothing.
Wake up georgia fans…..this is a watershed year for our program….and the whole country is watching.
You can talk all the smack you want but until you do something on the field, it is just talk.
11-0-1 1990 National Champs
August 21st, 2010
1:14 pm
Yes JB, the most relevant fact is 1990 National Champion! All gthe thUGA smut in the world can’t change history! 4 NC to thUGA’s 1, and thUGA has a 50 year history of institutional academic fraud without the NC. thUGA can cheat with the best of them, but not win the big one!
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 21st, 2010
1:16 pm
How2flush – good to see you’re still delusional!
Rabun Dawg
August 21st, 2010
1:17 pm
That is why we play the Games!! Who cares about pre-season rankings, the only ones that count are the post season ones! I personally think UGA is ranked about right or should be higher with all the question marks at QB position and the defense. I just hope that our new AD will take a long, hard look at this program and make some necessary changes if need be. I, for one am tired of hearing about all these so called 4.,5,star recruits, or whatever they are, and then lose to UK, struggle with the Vandys, USC’s of the world, and have the major blowouts to the Gators, Vols, Bamas that seem to happen all too often. We need to EARN our rankings on the field and not care about what this poll or that one perceives us to be! JMHO
The Jet
August 21st, 2010
1:20 pm
Who cares about pre-season polls? All fo you rading this blog and writing about it. Funny for someone to be reading a blog about pre-season rankings, and then typing about it, and then say they don’t mean anything.