Bulldogs finish with Top 5 rankings in both polls
The Georgia Bulldogs finished with a Top 5 ranking in both The Associated Press and coaches’ final polls released early Tuesday. But the Bulldogs remained behind Notre Dame, which lost to Alabama 42-14 in the BCS national championship game Monday night.
Georgia (12-2) finished in a tie for fifth with Texas A&M in the AP poll, which is a compilation of media votes. Notre Dame (12-1) was fourth. The Bulldogs were fourth in the USA Today coaches’ poll, one spot behind the Fighting Irish.
This represents the third time under coach Mark Richt the Bulldogs’ have closed out a season with a Top 5 ranking. They were No. 2 in 2007 and No. 3 in 2002. It’s Georgia’s sixth Top 10 final ranking under Richt, including 2003 (7), 2004 (7), 2005 (10) and 2008 (10). It’s the 18th time overall UGA has finished ranked among the AP top 10.
Alabama secured its third BCS title in the last four years Monday night in Miami to finish No. 1. Oregon (12-1) was second in both polls and Ohio State was ranked third in the AP, despite being on NCAA probation and ineligible for postseason play or conference championships.
Following are the complete polls:
ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25
Record Pts Pv
1. Alabama (59) 13-1 1,475 2
2. Oregon 12-1 1,358 5
3. Ohio St. 12-0 1,302 3
4. Notre Dame 12-1 1,288 1
5. Georgia 12-2 1,230 6
5. Texas A&M 11-2 1,230 10
7. Stanford 12-2 1,169 8
8. South Carolina 11-2 1,038 11
9. Florida 11-2 933 4
10. Florida St. 12-2 922 13
11. Clemson 11-2 889 14
12. Kansas St. 11-2 871 7
13. Louisville 11-2 781 22
14. LSU 10-3 756 9
15. Oklahoma 10-3 615 12
16. Utah St. 11-2 456 18
17. Northwestern 10-3 443 21
18. Boise St. 11-2 419 20
19. Texas 9-4 358 NR
20. Oregon St. 9-4 303 15
21. San Jose St. 11-2 243 24
22. N. Illinois 12-2 227 16
23. Vanderbilt 9-4 180 NR
24. Michigan 8-5 147 19
25. Nebraska 10-4 119 23
Others receiving votes: Baylor 95, Penn St. 90, Cincinnati 78, Oklahoma St. 42, Tulsa 34, UCLA 31, Arkansas St. 28, TCU 9, UCF 9, Wisconsin 6, N. Dakota St. 1.
USA TODAY COACHES’ POLL
Record Pts Pvs
1. Alabama (56) 13-1 1,400 2
2. Oregon 12-1 1,322 3
3. Notre Dame 12-1 1,253 1
4. Georgia 12-2 1,213 5
5. Texas A&M 11-2 1,171 9
6. Stanford 12-2 1,167 8
7. South Carolina 11-2 1,064 10
8. Florida State 12-2 942 12
9. Clemson 11-2 916 13
10. Florida 11-2 886 4
11. Kansas State 11-2 841 6
12. LSU 10-3 775 7
13. Louisville 11-2 772 18
14. Boise State 11-2 633 15
15. Oklahoma 10-3 600 11
16. Northwestern 10-3 580 17
17. Utah State 11-2 444 20
18. Texas 9-4 398 25
19. Oregon State 9-4 366 14
20. Vanderbilt 9-4 248 NR
21. San Jose State 11-2 244 24
22. Cincinnati 10-3 186 NR
23. Nebraska 10-4 175 21
24. Northern Illinois 12-2 156 16
25. Tulsa 11-3 110 NR
Others receiving votes: Michigan 101; UCLA 75; Baylor 52; Oklahoma State 36; Wisconsin 18; Central Florida 15; Arkansas State 13; Arizona State 10; Rutgers 9; Kent State 5; Louisiana Tech 2; Arizona 1; Ohio 1.
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368 comments Add your comment
2013
January 8th, 2013
11:53 am
watching ALA win another NC……………………………….fantastic
listening to uga fans whine about everything……………priceless
Discount DoubleDawg
January 8th, 2013
11:54 am
Thanks buckeye!
Look, Georgia is in the SEC. Living in the SEC means you play a different level of overall talent and competition on a consistent basis. Take your opinion and mine out of the equation and this is what intelligent unbiased football analysts say. Do other conferences have some good teams? Sure they do. It’s just that no conference consistently compares in football with the SEC. To argue otherwise is an exercise in futility.
You haters can’t handle the truth… and logic really throws you into a tizzy. This is a football blog not an academic blog although I have had those arguments as well here. All last night proves is that the ND would probably be the 4th, 5th or maybe 6th best team in the SEC.
Did you see their D-line dropping like flies after 1 SEC level game? Imagine the injuries (read- exposed lack of depth) and what that would do to Notre Dame over the course of a year.
No one is riding coat tails… If you believe in the rankings then give UGA credit and move on. If you don’t care about rankings then don’t ever bring up again what Georgia’s record is against teams who finish ranked. You can’t have it both ways and consider yourself logical. It’s impossible.
S E C! S E C!
TheTruth
January 8th, 2013
11:54 am
Notre Dame wouldn’t finish in the top 5 on the SEC. But these rankings, children, show the national media bias in favor of the Golden Domers.
Teams better than ND in the SEC…Alabama, Georgia, Texas A&M, LSU, South Carolina, and Florida.
Jville Dawg
January 8th, 2013
11:55 am
Not really Top 5… but kinda
January 8th, 2013
9:09 am
Since A&M tied for 5th most points also, we can safely call Ga #6. A&M will be called Top 5 since they had the same record, but actually had wins over quality teams (including the Nat’l Champ) and the Heisman Winner
————————————————————————————————————————————
We’re tied with them in the AP poll, and the press are the only ones who really care about that poll. The Coaches Poll is the only one that matters between the two. As far as I’m concerned we finished 4th. They dont’ give the Crystal football to the winner of the AP Poll, they give it to the winner of the Coaches Poll.
Jville Dawg
January 8th, 2013
11:57 am
Discount DoubleDawg
January 8th, 2013
11:54 am
Well said!
DP
January 8th, 2013
11:59 am
Good point 2013. South Carolina beat Georgia as badly as Alabama beat Notre Dame. The Georgia fans think the South Carolina game should be thrown out but the game last night proves Notre Dame can’t play, their entire season should be thrown out and they and shouldn’t be in the top 10.
I saw a funny thing on al.com. Aaron Murray hit on McCarron’s hot girlfriend last night by tweeting that she should become a Dawg fan. McCarron responded with the following tweet to Murray:
@aaronmurray11 u don’t win enough bud!! #15
Musberger’s gushing over McCarron’s girlfriend Katherine Webb and the numerous shots of her on the telecast caused her Twitter followers to jump from 2,000 to over 130,000 by this morning.
Ray
January 8th, 2013
11:59 am
Right now TAMU and Georgia should both be pissed. I’m happy for being in Top 5, but behind ND, and Ohio St(who would have gotten curb stomped twice as hard). I just don’t see how you can’t rank Bama, UGA, and TAMU not in Top 3.
I mean there really was no difference between us an Bama had Georgia and Bama played again it wouldn’t always be the same outcome like Stephen A. Smith(whom I am not fond of quoting at all) said “ND and Bama play 50 times it’s going to be same outcome every time”.
Still though I Congratulate Bama for beating the brakes off of ND.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:04 pm
air of mendacity,
Urban’s recruiting ok. We’ll have a higher ranked class than the dogs, AND, we won’t be delusional enough to call it a “Dream Team”.
http://rivals.yahoo.com/footballrecruiting/football/recruiting/player-Mike-Mitchell-133392
Old Dawg
January 8th, 2013
12:06 pm
This just in: Notre Dame’s application to play in 1-AA was revoked for inability to compete on that level.
Earlier, the Big 10 petition to participate in the 1-AA was also revoked for poor play, especially in bowl games.
7576DAWG
January 8th, 2013
12:07 pm
There was questions as to why Notre Dame wasn’t getting any love before the game except from Catholics and not all of them.
The answer is Notre Dame is living in the past and are the only team in America who is allowed “to have it’s cake and eat it too”. Meaning Notre Dame is allowed to NOT be a member of a credible Conference who has to play a Conference Championship and have the same consideration in the polls when their schedule turns out to be one of the easiest in the nation. The only team they beat this year who didn’t have 3 to 5 losses was Stanford and I will argue all day that Stanford scored on that run play and if the officials had gotten it right Stanford would have beaten Notre Dame. Notre Dame should have ended at number 6 or 7 at best but if they had to play any of the top 10 they would loss at least 7 to 9 of those game.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:07 pm
discount,
I did not watch one minute last night.
I do know, you are what your record says you are: a two loss team.
You did not win the SEC! SEC! championship nor the NC.
So, if you want credit……..
go dogs sic ‘em woof woof
Your only rightful claim is SEC LEAST! SEC LEAST!
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:08 pm
Funny, in the AP the dogs SHARED #5. They weren’t even #5 in their own right.
2013
January 8th, 2013
12:11 pm
dogs keep yapping about big 10, but forget MSU of the big 10 – 33, mighty sec east division champs ga bulldogs- 30
Dwayne
January 8th, 2013
12:15 pm
nuetered dame
gumbey10
January 8th, 2013
12:17 pm
Georgia should have at least a rank of 3rd in the country.. these other teams that are in front of them .. only alabama deserved the higher ranking….
Discount DoubleDawg
January 8th, 2013
12:17 pm
Buckeye- just so we know where you stand for future reference. Do the rankings have merit or not? Or another way to ask the exact same question is this- is Georgia the 5th best team in the country? It is a yes or no question.
Hint: It’s not a trick question but no matter what you answer, 1 of your 2 arguments are finished. You can only speak out of both sides of your mouth for so long…
7576DAWG
January 8th, 2013
12:18 pm
The BCS only cares about who is the best team in America. That is why we have never had a playoff. My contention is we need at least an 8 team playoff to get the top 10 as close to right as possible. It is just as important to expose teams like Louisville and Notre Dame . With an 8 team playoff Florida would have had something to prove and would have been more prepared because with a win they move to the next round. Notre Dame would have lost in the 1ST round and ended up ranked about 8TH to 10TH where they deserved. attendance for those games would be all sell out because until they lose everyone of the 8 teams would still have a chance to be National Champions. BCS suk for not realizing it.
copper
January 8th, 2013
12:19 pm
media politics, SEC Envy, and many just plain ignorant/stupid voters…
2013
January 8th, 2013
12:19 pm
funny how dogs keep repeating their mistakes. Against MSU of the big ten in the bowl game last year they had a big lead, lost it, had a chance to win and choked, and lost the game. Against Ala had a big lead,lost it had a chance to win the game, choked and lost the game.
Flyer
January 8th, 2013
12:20 pm
@MurfDawg– SC played 6 teams in the final AP rankings ( UGA, Fla, LSU, Clemson, Vandy and Michigan) going 4-2. UGA played 5 teams (ALA, SC, Fla, Vandy and Nebraska) going 3-2. Does that answer your question about SOS?
Strat Cat Dawg
January 8th, 2013
12:24 pm
I won’t argue about Oregon but how Notre Dame ends up rated ahead of UGA and TAMU is hard to figure. Body or work? Sure ND had one loss to #1 and Georgia had a bad loss to SC but- after UGA’s poor showing, they came back to beat UF and everyone else except a squeaker to Bama and A&M, well you know that story. So if the way you finish means anything, it’s 1) Bama, 2) Ducks, 3) Dawgs/A&M, 5) Irish.
sam
January 8th, 2013
12:25 pm
Wait till next year!!! For the 33rd time!
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
12:25 pm
buckeye
You are lost in SEC wilderness here bud. This is a place where Buckeyes come to get exposed.
Meyer crapped his pants thinking he might have to face that next year once he slides through another fraud of a schedule.
Maybe he was thinking of his next “retirement illness”, so he can avoid the humiliation.
God help you if it is us playing you next January.
DawginLex
January 8th, 2013
12:27 pm
At least the coaches have enough class and character to exclude the Suckeyes from their poll.
DawgByte
January 8th, 2013
12:30 pm
Great season for UGA… something to build on! Well done players and coaches alike.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:30 pm
discount,
The only ranking that matters is who is # 1 today. The rest is smack, means nothing and give us s chance to show how smart we are, or not.
Playoffs (Playoffs?) will help put much of this to rest but the dogs will still be cryin’ and a humpn’ in 2014 on the outside looking in. Then again, it will be the refs fault.
Spence
January 8th, 2013
12:31 pm
Uh, what about 2002? I believe we finished 2 or 3 that year.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:33 pm
dawgin,
Come on, man, We cleaned house, no one on the field was involved and we paid our pittance to the NCAA. Coming out on the other end, we were 12-0. Congrats to self for getting back uo and dusting ourselves off.
Buckeye
January 8th, 2013
12:34 pm
dawgin,
Tell your not a SEC! SEC! coat tail dog.
AltamahaDawg
January 8th, 2013
12:37 pm
$100,000.00 bonus check. Nice.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:37 pm
Good thing the playoff is 4 instead of 8 teams.
This season woulda had about 4 or 5 SEC teams in it.
Buckeye, SMART, and GTBob woulda had to be medicated, or shipped to Milledgeville in a straight-jacket . . .
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:40 pm
“Then again, it will be the refs fault.”
***********************************
Buckeye, don’t act like a Techie – making things up.
When have you read a comment criticizing refs by a legit UGA fan?
MT
January 8th, 2013
12:41 pm
how about this, give Saban a month off to prepare for the SEC Championship and then play it. My bet the score is 65-3, Alabama.
Georgia hasn’t given up 65 points in the history of football, remember Georgia would have a month to get ready also. You didn’t think Georgia would only lose 32-28 and come within 5 yds of beating Bama with only a week to get ready.BTW USC WANNABEE would not have beat us on DEC. 1.
7576DAWG
January 8th, 2013
12:43 pm
Buckeye
The AP poll should be ashamed of themselves for ranking Ohio State as high as they got or even giving them a ranking at all.. At best Ohio State should have ended around 8TH to 10TH The Big 10’s second best team was Northwestern who had 3 losses and they ended ranked 16TH in one poll and 17TH in the other . Since they did not play anybody out of their Conference rated in the top 50 and since they didn’t have to win the Conference Championship they lost the privilege of even being rated at all. Ohio State would have lost in the 1ST round in a playoff this year unless they had been lucky enough to have gotten Notre Dame .
Dawglasville
January 8th, 2013
12:44 pm
Trolls – according to the national media and the coaches of the NCAA there are only 4 teams in the nation more relevant than the University of Georgia. Just thought you should know that.
Bama trolls – great win. Another great season. The best team won the SEC and the BCS. You have been there before. So, for 2013 why not try to act like it.
Buckeye – I know that you are going to see the Clips play the Mavs tonight. If you sit at the top of the arena does that put you outside the 100 yard radius you have to stay away from Trey?
DP
January 8th, 2013
12:45 pm
Colin Cowherd was just talking with Ohio State alum Kirk Herbstreit who called last night’s game. Cowherd said Ohio State being 3rd in the final AP poll was absurd, that if you had watched them play they couldn’t finish 3rd in the SEC West. Herbstreit said his top 5 off the top of his head would probably be Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, Georgia and Ohio State. Cowherd said no way, he’d take LSU over Ohio State. Herbstreit said “you could probably make a pretty good argument for that.”
Urban Meyer looked a little ashen faced on the telecast at halftime last night after he picked Notre Dame to win before the game. I think he was having a flashback to the 2009 beatdown his Florida team took from Saban in the 2009 SEC Championship game that put him in the hospital and ultimately made his a$$ quit before heading on to the easier life in the Big 10.
danny
January 8th, 2013
12:46 pm
Buckeye, don’t you mean cleaned house again. The way osu used and disposed of Maurice Clarett is shameful on many levels. He should have never been admitted. tressell cheated from the moment he got there and Meyers won’t be far behind.
Jiggy Smaha
January 8th, 2013
12:46 pm
All the Richt haters should take note. Georgia has finished in the Top 10 six times in Richt’s 12 years–12 times in the other 80-90 years of the program. With Richt–Top Ten 50% of the time. Without Richt–Top Ten 15% of the time.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:46 pm
Sounds like you’re enjoying that bonus as much as Mrs Richt is.
Is there something you need to tell us??
MT
January 8th, 2013
12:47 pm
Your only rightful claim is SEC LEAST! SEC LEAST!
WELL WE CAN ALWAYS CLAIM OUR WIN OVER OHIO STATE AND KIRK HERBSTREIT.
Ohio St= Big Ten and Big Ten sucks
Goldenrod
January 8th, 2013
12:49 pm
That Urban Meyer made a fool out iff himselff last night! What a dork!!
Discount DoubleDawg
January 8th, 2013
12:49 pm
Buckeye- glad to hear you say that. Now you can never (with a straight face and dignity) again mention anything about Georgia’s record against ranked teams. You heard it here folks- buckeye says “The only ranking that matters is who is # 1 today. The rest is smack”
Why would he waste so much time and effort worrying about Georgia/Murray’s record against teams who finish ranked if the rankings are smack? interesting… seems like an agenda to me and one with no merit. Just an emotionally charged agenda void of substance, facts, and logic. What a fraud. Exposed.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:50 pm
danny, OSU treated Clarett pretty well.
http://network.yardbarker.com/college_football/article_external/maurice_clarett_i_got_paid_more_in_college_than_i_do_now_in_the_ufl/12439528?linksrc=home_x_rg_head_12439528
DP
January 8th, 2013
12:50 pm
My 10 off the top of my head: Alabama, Oregon, Texas A&M, Georgia, South Carolina, Stanford, Clemson, Notre Dame, Florida, LSU.
tenn.DAWG
January 8th, 2013
12:51 pm
Notre Dame would lose to any of the top 15.Shows how lame that the mid-west dominated voting is.
MT
January 8th, 2013
12:52 pm
Buckeye, don’t act like a Techie
He is a Techie, You really think there is a Buckeye who really cares about trolling on a Georgia blog? Ann Arbor maybe.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:53 pm
You’re right, Goldenrod. Myer’s prediction was as laughable as your’s yesterday . . .
7576DAWG
January 8th, 2013
12:54 pm
The BCS only care about who end up number 1 but I argue that if we had an 8 team playoff then the top 10 would be relevant at the end of the year . Lets take a look at teams that ended this year in the top ten who shouldn’t even be there,
1-Ohio State- didn’t play anybody ,or a Conference Championship
2– Notre Dame –didn’t play anybody or a Conference Championship
In an 8 team playoff you would have the top eight teams giving it their all because any of them could end up National Champions .
DP
January 8th, 2013
12:55 pm
While I’d reward Notre Dame for their season with a #8 ranking and would rate Florida and LSU behind them because of their dud bowl game performances, I have to admit that in a game with both teams prepared and motivated I think Florida or LSU would whip them on both lines of scrimmage and win, though neither has the offense to beat them like Alabama did. But I think Notre Dame would beat Ohio State.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
12:57 pm
I don’t know, MT.
You can catch the little techies by asking them questions about “Team X,Y,or Z”.
Buckeye actually can discuss Ohio State’s athletics.