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
Trip
August 5th, 2011
5:20 pm
Forgot how good DJ looked as a mobile QB. SEC Championship in 2005 was nice.
We’re STILL Georgia.
Check out the highlight from 2005 SEC Championship:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X28ru_538jg&feature=related
murray county mystic
August 5th, 2011
5:36 pm
Trip…please stick to the mystic’s 5 year rule…the current players had nothing to do with 2005…5th year seniors on this years squad were not on that team…so, anything prior to 2007 I can read about on Wikipedia…by the way…you were STILL Georgia when UCF was planting a foot in your behind…
War Darn Dawg
August 5th, 2011
7:00 pm
“Hey man, nothing wrong with being a gator fan…” (Hairy Perry to SSI Gator)
I beg to differ with you there, Hairy. Up or down, win or lose, they’re still Gators. Obnoxious and tacky, a bad combo. And they’re under the delusion that their school is an elite institution, which only adds to the putrid mix.
And they haven’t changed a bit. I lived in Florida while the Dawgs were winning 10 out of 12 in the late 70s and 80s, before Spurrier and their first SEC title, when the series record stood at 44-22-2 UGA, and they talked as much trash then as they do now. UF fans are the only fans I’ve seen that actually talk trash after you BEAT THEM. Most fans of the losing schools lay low for awhile.
That’s why I’m no fan of Richt and look forward to the eventual change. 2-8 against UF just doesn’t cut it for me. If you don’t get that, then you’ve never lived among Gators.
bamaguy
August 5th, 2011
7:17 pm
I am an outsider looking in on this one but it is exciting. I don’t think I have ever seen so much riding on the first two games of a season. 2-0, 1-1, 0-2 against Boise and USC will be make it or break it, not only for UGA but for CMR. Glad I am just an observer on this one.
If UGA beats Boise and USC they will have beaten two top ten teams in two weeks and will most likely be in the top ten. If they lose to both, the moving vans will arrive in Athens. Glad I can watch without an emotional investment.
Razer
August 5th, 2011
8:33 pm
McGarity said he just wants to see “improvement”. Went 6-7 last seaosn, so 8-5 would be fine. Richt’s won 96 games in 10 years, he ain’t gettin fired clueless one.
Minnesota Dawg
August 5th, 2011
9:43 pm
You say rankings don’t mean anything? Yes they do! While everyone knows it doesn’t guarantee that you will win, it does give respect to a school’s team and gives them chance to play eventually for the National Championship. Just think of all the teams who were not ranked but won enough to be in the Championship game but did not get to go because of their ranking out of the top 25. I’ll take it anyday!
RedandBlackDAWG
August 5th, 2011
9:48 pm
Rolaids anyone,
I was thinking maybe you might need some Ex lax, for your obvious problem, not something for your indigestion.
GO DAWGS
RedandBlackDAWG
August 5th, 2011
9:55 pm
Nothing could be finer.
Jenkins finshed practice just fine today. It appears that human nature causes a lot of people to criticize what they fear the most. I think you fit into that area. Don’t you think you might want to win the SEC, before you start cleaning off that place in your trophy case, for that big NC trophy?
GO DAWGS
Skule Daze
August 5th, 2011
9:59 pm
We now have the complete list of courses that Isaiah Crowell will be taking in the fall semester. It’s a pretty ambitious schedule for the lad, but I’m sure he’ll be up to it.
1. Know Your ABCs – Part I (A-M)
2. Fun With Dick and Jane – The Coloring Book
3. Life Studies: Put the Mojo on Your Teammates While Emptying Their Lockers
4. Law 101 – Know Your Miranda Rights
5. Dress for Success: The Inspiring True Story of the Fabled Red Panties
6. Arithmetic 1 – Multiplying by One
7. Psychology: Getting Along With Your Cellmate
RedandBlackDAWG
August 5th, 2011
10:14 pm
Murray county misfit,
Just exactly what team do you go for anyway? Just curious because you sound kind of like an amateur, repeating the same thing over and over again. You might change the words but it is the same old stuff. I think you need to work on some orginality if you want to make a name for yourself.
DostaDawg
August 5th, 2011
10:16 pm
@RedandBlackDAWG@9:48
Priceless. ABSOLUTELY PRICELESS!!!!
RED DOG 77
August 6th, 2011
1:14 am
@RedandBlackDAWG………Keep givin’ ‘em the business ‘ol boy……you’re doing a great job, know your football, and a damn good Dawg!……….As for rankings, I don’t give a rats rear end!…..It seems apparent to me there are alot of scared S. Carolina folks out there, yea, that game will be a stobberknocker, but I just don’t see Richt and Grantham puttiing together a game plan that won’t scare the poop out of Garcia, stuff Lattimore, and take advantage of the “Hedges” heat, and Murray and win this one going away………Georgia by 10 to 12 points, last 10 min. of this game is key. As for Boise St……….Yea, I respect what they heve done, but top 10?………Hell Jenkins and Geathers are going to crawl so far up that Boise St. center, he will be smiling with our teeth! sheer size, speed, and talent……..won’t be much of a game after the first half…….gonna be like the Hawaii game a few years ago………….No Boise, we are no asleep-at-the-wheel Oklahoma you met some years ago in the Fiesta Bowl……………Keep gettin after ‘em RedandBlackDAWG……..’Ol RED is backin’ ya up…………Regards to all DOG NATION……….GATA
jc_dawgs
August 6th, 2011
5:48 am
22 is about what I expected. We were not very good last year and what really has changed? We added a good many talented freshmen and the coaches are trying to emphasize better conditioning.
That really does not amount to much in my book for this year. However….if you look at Ga’s linemen on both sides of the ball….those dudes are big! If the coaches can condition and prepare our linemen to just physically get after folks on both sides of the ball….Ga may actually be real good!
Boise St could be in real trouble if that does happen. Ga would simply over power them for 4 qtrs.
Ga has a soft schedule so you never know.
Beatdown City
August 6th, 2011
7:50 am
Boise State 49, UGA 10
Beatdown City, and the beginning of the end for Cheatmeister Mark Richt!
Buckeye
August 6th, 2011
8:03 am
Morning dogs,
WDE – there was no wing-doing with the cars. Do your homework.
Dog in a Truck – peed on your hedges this morning?
hunkerdown
August 6th, 2011
8:24 am
Might be a lil bit of media play involved. Chick fil a openner sounds better number 7 Boise State vs. # 22 Georgia than number 7 Boise State vs. Georgia.
Buckeye
August 6th, 2011
8:41 am
Once the dogs go 0-2 out of the gate they will be downgraded out of the top 25 just like Obama’s credit rating.
Truth
August 6th, 2011
9:10 am
Hey East Repeat, nice selective memory. Guess you don’t remember the last game yall played.
Your boy Lattimore got knocked the F out by Greg Reid (FSU), a 170 lb dback from the lowly ACC.
Don’t think anyone else here is impressed as you are.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 6th, 2011
9:36 am
The coaches poll, is kind of hard to place a lot of stock in, because most of the coaches, should have been too busy preparing their own teams, to observe and know a lot about the other teams. Polls in about week 5 and after that, probably are fairly accurate, but until then, most schools are getting their OOC games out of the way, and let’s face it, how much do you learn about a team when they are playing a school, much smaller and less powerful usually than they are. It is a continued scrimmage for most of them.
Early polls, mainly benefit the players as it gives them some incentive and boosts their egos somewhat. They know though, that respect is earned on the field, and they will need to earn it on there.
How Bout em
August 6th, 2011
1:30 pm
Relax–this dawg team is loaded. Ga blows out boise state and beats sc by 13 in Athens.
RedandBlackDAWG
August 6th, 2011
2:34 pm
How Bout em,
I agree 100% with you. They just lack experience but I think if they are well prepared, they are going to surprise a few people. These kids are athletes and anxious to prove they can compete on the field. The Ol is thin in experience, but this would have been the same starting five, even if the backups were thin on experience.
GO DAWGS