Preseason ranking no shocker: ‘We’re still Georgia’
Georgia's ranking "shocked" Ben Jones, but it shouldn't have. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
Some folks inside and outside the Bulldog Nation were surprised when the USA Today coaches preseason poll was released Thursday and Georgia was ranked a respectable No. 22 despite coming off a 6-7 season and a horrendous bowl game.
Even the Dogs’ Ben Jones admitted he was “shocked” at Georgia being ranked in the preseason for the 10th consecutive year.
And Abry Jones said he “didn’t think we would be that high since we didn’t do well last year.”
Tavarres King, on the other hand, said, “I’m not shocked that we’re ranked. We’re still Georgia, and I think everybody knows that.”
I think King probably nailed it right there. Despite coming off a bad season and having a lot of question marks, UGA and Mark Richt have enough residual respect to be considered among the nation’s 25 best teams without having played a down yet.
And while preseason rankings don’t mean a whole lot, as Richt said, “I think it’s a good sign for the program. It’s a good sign of respect if coaches feel like Georgia is a Top 25 team.”
Of course, last year the coaches also thought Georgia was a Top 25 team. In fact, the Dogs were ranked a notch higher in last year’s preseason poll, at 21, and briefly made it up to No. 19 before falling out of the ranking for good after the South Carolina game.
And the No. 22 preseason ranking is the lowest of Richt’s tenure since his first year, when Georgia couldn’t quite crack the Top 25.
Still, being ranked at all is encouraging, even if it might be a result of the coaches (or whoever filled out the poll for them) simply listing Georgia out of force of habit.
At the very least, it bolsters the confidence of the Georgia players as they prepare to meet the No. 7-ranked Boise State Broncos.
And another factor is that while Georgia at times looked terrible last year, they also were thisclose to winning some of those games they lost. As Jones put it: “I think people believe in us. They’re not counting us out, because we lost a lot of games by three and seven points. If we would have made the play in the fourth quarter, we would have been the team that’s 10-3 instead of going 6-7.”
Now they just have to see if they can make those fourth-quarter plays this year. If Joe Tereshinski has anything to say about it, I’m betting they will more often than not.
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271 comments Add your comment
Buckeye
August 5th, 2011
2:11 pm
Sophmore Year:
Over/Under on when the next dog running back becomes, in dog’s words, a “cancer”?
Get Real
August 5th, 2011
2:12 pm
“We are still Georgia.” That pretty much sums up the attitude of entitlement that exists among UGA fans. Doesn’t mean squat until you prove it on the field, which you ain’t done yet!
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
2:12 pm
@East Repeat (Now there’s a joke):
Which is it dude? Lack of, or crappy, SC blog or no luck with the ladies these days?
dc
August 5th, 2011
2:13 pm
Does anyone think Georgia will beat Boise St? I don’t. Believe me, I want Georgia to win, but, just don’t see it happening. Reasons: 1. Too many distractions this Summer, 2. Georgia trying to rebound from bad season has a lot of unanswered questions, 3. Boise is a “team” of players that have played winning football together. 4. This Georgia team is learning how to win. 5. Boise State’s quarterback
Go Bulldogs, win for yourself first, then for the SEC.
GeoffDawg
August 5th, 2011
2:13 pm
Alphare – how can tech be considered an overachiever? They’re an average program playing in one of the worst BCS leagues. Their ACC baseline should be in the top 25% each year.
Buckeye
August 5th, 2011
2:14 pm
Whoever asked, we’ll be playing in a new years bowl if not a BCS game.
Tressel is the entire blame of the NCAA investigiation. He is gone. No death penalty, no non-bowl eligible.
Word.
D BAG TROLLS!
August 5th, 2011
2:14 pm
Pole smokers is what I smell! Envy is what you feel! This Junkyard is going to sneak up on you and bite the negative weird smell right out of you all. Smelling weird and not having women in your life is a lonely feeling and we hear you. Your bad! As you all think that you have one up on this DAWG nation, you are wrong. We are the lead DAWG and times are a changing. UGA will make its mark again in the EAST good luck catching this rocket ship to glory. Most of you are closet DAWG fans or else you would not waste your precious time blogging about them daily. Who does this???
Buckeye
August 5th, 2011
2:15 pm
dc,
dogs ain’t beating Boise and sure as heck ain’t beating Mr. Lattimore and Co. The 0-2 start will the the Fire Win With Richt out in drives. woof woof.
Word.
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
2:17 pm
Buckeye, you need an OSU blog or a girl. Which is it?
Nomobama
August 5th, 2011
2:19 pm
LOL…we’re still GA, meaning the same team, minus good receivers, several RBs and hardly any OL worth a darn, who only scored 6 againt C FL…good times!
D BAG TROLLS!
August 5th, 2011
2:21 pm
Polesitters is what I smell! Envy is what you feel! This Junkyard is going to sneak up on you and bite the negative weird smell right out of you all. Smelling weird and not having women in your life is a lonely feeling and we hear you. Your bad! As you all think that you have one up on this DAWG nation, you are wrong. We are the lead DAWG and times are a changing. UGA will make its mark again in the EAST good luck catching this rocket ship to glory. Most of you are closet DAWG fans or else you would not waste your precious time blogging about them daily. Who does this???
bamaguy
August 5th, 2011
2:22 pm
Georgia recruits very well and RIcht is a good coach. I am not surprised by the ranking. I think it also reflects that the voters realize that last year could have been very different if not for AJ’s early season suspension.
WDE
August 5th, 2011
2:23 pm
@Buckeye we might lose games under CMR but the NCAA won’t ever make us vacate wins for cheating…you slimy worm you. Tressell as all that was wrong ? How about the slugs he recruited he did not hold them down and tattoo their sorry butts, he didn’t force cars and cash on them…face it Ohio St is and has been for quite some time the cesspool of the Big whatever the number is this year…
Alphare
August 5th, 2011
2:24 pm
Geoff,
Tech rarely has much talent but managed to win an NC (or 1/2 depending on who you ask) 20 years. Texax and Georgia both have top 10 recruiting year after year, but manage to win a single NC among the 2 in 30 years (let’s say each has 1/2 NC).
Yes, Tech overachived in that 30-year span.
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
2:27 pm
TPT:
Terrelle Pryor’s Tatoos
Trailer Park Trash
One is the face of a disgraced program, the other a fan of it.
DAN
August 5th, 2011
2:27 pm
DREAM ON DOGIE FAN DREAM ON
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
2:28 pm
Dan, what is a dogie? Is that some kind of sandwich?
Trip
August 5th, 2011
2:43 pm
If you look at Nick Saban in 2007, his 1st year implementing the 3-4 defense, he went 6-6 too. All losses were close games, he even lost to La Monroe.
http://espn.go.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/333/year/2007/alabama-crimson-tide
They won 13 games the next year with a better defensive line and running back.
Sound familiar?
murray county mystic
August 5th, 2011
2:44 pm
@GeoffDawg…my issue wasn’t with UGA being #22 in the polls…I read that…the “residual respect” line was the funny part!…because UGA gravy-trains off of the SEC’s success, it is granted a position it doesn’t deserve in the poll…Clemson, UGA’s mirror image, ended up somewhere around 40th in the voting…no respect for the ACC tarnishes their image…if the two swapped conferences, Clemson probably would be 22nd, because and only because of conference affiliation…
Delbert D.
August 5th, 2011
2:47 pm
Living on residuals is for actors who aren’t getting any parts.
Tigeringa
August 5th, 2011
2:48 pm
I predict Boise State will destroy UGA on national TV……50+ points!
slydog
August 5th, 2011
2:50 pm
I am no hater. But a #22 ranking is a slap in the face and a “gimme.” That is my opinion. First, UGA as a program SHOULD be a top 12 team each and every year based off of goodwill built up over time. That is what pre-season rankings ultimately are. What has UGA done over the past 4 seasons to deserve even a lowly #22 ranking? Based off results, this is not the #22 ranked team in the country. Second, however, they SHOULD have been higher. These coaches and writers have just given us a “gimme”. We have lost their respect and their fear. UGA needs to prove this on the field.
Trip
August 5th, 2011
2:51 pm
Compare 1st year in 3-4:
Saban average 22 points on defense in 07, 345 yard of total defense.
Grantham averaged 22.1 points on defense, 328 yards of total defense.
Anytime your defense is beating out Nick Saban’s, that’s a good sign of things to come.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
2:56 pm
The game with Boise State will be an outright war.
————————————————————————-
If I were a dog or a dog fan, I would not like that because Spurrier & Co. will be arriving in less than a week.
If last year was any indication, Lattimore will bring the pain.
WDE
August 5th, 2011
2:58 pm
@Tigeringa I predict you’ve never seen a woman nude.
Trip
August 5th, 2011
3:00 pm
Saban went from 6-6 in 07′, to 12-0 in 08′, largely from upgrades on his defense line.
Anyone seen 6′ 5” 350 John Jenkins and 6′ 6” 345 Kwame Geathers? Stout.
Want some more playmakers on defense?
TJ Stripling. 110 tackes his Sr yr, 21 tackles for loss, 21 sacks. Like size? Try 6′ 6″. Bigger than Clowney and more results & bigger stats.
Like fast guys?
Ray Drew & Jarvis Jones ain’t chopped liver. Tyson was a 1 man sacking machine in high school at DE. Ogletree? Boykin? Smith? Rambo? Commings? This ain’t your grandpa’s defense.
Aubie-won-knobi
August 5th, 2011
3:00 pm
DawgInTruck: The reason so many “other” SEC fans blog on the AJC is because it’s the best paper in the Southeast with the best overall sports coverage of our great conference.
WDE
August 5th, 2011
3:00 pm
@Nothing Could Be Finer what we really want to know is can you keep Garcia sober ? Or the coaching staff…well at least the QB coach…
MD
August 5th, 2011
3:03 pm
Buckeye, it’s a shame you have to brag about not getting a post season ban. It was nice when you disappeared for a week or two, I was holding out hope you found some sense and found a tOSU blog. At least SSIGator comes up with humorous post at times that are relevant to the blog.
Come up with new material please.
murray county mystic
August 5th, 2011
3:03 pm
@Nothing Could Be Finer…I think the Boise game will mirror the West Virginia Sugar Bowl loss, ot the Bama blackout loss…UGA will get jumped on early, make the score respectable late, but the outcome won’t be in doubt…Boise by 10+…your boys from SC should punish them the following week…
WDE
August 5th, 2011
3:04 pm
@Aubie-won-knobi awwwww come on your a closet Dawg fan admit it…quit living a lie..you love us you want to be like us you want to step into the light that is the Bull Dog Nation..say it loud say it proud I’m a Dawg !
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
3:04 pm
Anyone seen 6′ 5” 350 John Jenkins and 6′ 6” 345 Kwame Geathers?
——————————————————
Yea, I “seen” John Jenkins……………on the sidelines because he could not finish practice last night.
Did he not go through summer strength and conditioning?
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
3:07 pm
murray county mystic, I personally think that Ga wins the Boise game.
Destin dawg
August 5th, 2011
3:08 pm
trip….. right on brother…. Junkyard Dawgs are BBBaaaacccckkkkkk !!!!
Destin dawg
August 5th, 2011
3:10 pm
If S.C. doesn’t have really GOOD subs for Lattimore and Garcia… they will be worn out by 4th Qtr. !!!!!! Go Dawgs !!!
murray county mystic
August 5th, 2011
3:10 pm
for the good of the conference, yes…but, they won’t…
Trip
August 5th, 2011
3:11 pm
Samuel could have a 1000 yard rushing year if he can hang on to the football. Watch this run, looks faster than Lattimore. Both backs got @4.6 ypc.
Big run against Ark by Samuel:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rw_6K3xzSU
Destin dawg
August 5th, 2011
3:11 pm
UGA. 27 S.C. 14
DawgTrue
August 5th, 2011
3:14 pm
Bill finally gets one right. I like the thisclose description. We were, and things went the wrong way too many times. This year might be everybody was thisclose to keeping Georgia from being No. 1! But didn’t! Go ‘Dawgs!
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
3:19 pm
Lattimore’s sub was the starter in 2009 – he’s good.
Garcia’s sub could start for many teams in the SEC; many think he will play regardless of how Stephen does.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
3:19 pm
Samuel could have a 1000 yard rushing year
—————————————————————
That converted linebacker?
LOL
Trip
August 5th, 2011
3:21 pm
If Richt gets his swagger back going be 2002 all over again:
Note:
Richt sees a lot of similarities between the 2011 team & team 2002 team.
2002 highlights
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLSQ6BsdQSs
GeoffDawg
August 5th, 2011
3:22 pm
Alphare – 1. That was 21 years ago and yes, it was half. 2. You didn’t even have to go to a major bowl to win it, heck you tied a horrible UNC team on a last second FG. 3. Playing an SEC vs. and ACC schedule is a tremendous difference. Denying that is insane 4. I would expect tech to have more talent on any given year than Maryland, North Carolina, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Virginia, Boston College. Comparable with Clemson and Va. Tech, behind maybe FSU and Miami.
Yes, you should be in the top half of a bad conference in a typical year. Not doing that is underachieving.
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
3:22 pm
@Aubie-won: Obviously these “other fans” have ‘net access and opposable thumbs/hooves. Do the newspapers that cover their teams not have on-line access? I stick to my original theory: No blog, one that sucks, or lack of a woman. Until I am proven wrong, I will consider myself to be 100% correct.
GeoffDawg
August 5th, 2011
3:24 pm
Not to mention that you have 1 win in the last decade against your biggest rival. To be fair, Georgia has severly underachieved in the Florida series as well.
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
3:24 pm
Nothing Finer: No SC blog, a crappy one, or no girl? Which is it bird boy?
Smokewagon
August 5th, 2011
3:24 pm
Lattimore will suffer from the Sophomore jinx. Can you spell fumbleitis? Bring it on!!
Aubie-won-knobi
August 5th, 2011
3:25 pm
@WDE..no thanks. I don’t know of anyone who is proud to pretend to be a leg humper.
DawgInaTruck
August 5th, 2011
3:25 pm
Alas, Geoff you are right yet again. At least we can be honest.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 5th, 2011
3:25 pm
murray county mystic, for the good of college football, they better beat Boise
LOL