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
Independent
January 8th, 2013
4:08 pm
Alabama Dog you are correct. ND did give up more points to Bama in the 1st half, than UGA did in the entire game. However, 1 game doesn’t make a season, and if one game did make a season, y’alls would have ended in Columbia S.C.
danny
January 8th, 2013
4:09 pm
Joey and buckeye, i just read the espn the magazine story,Clarrett tells his side of the story. How cars and cash were a normal part of Tressel’s osu program. Read the article and then people may see how much power Delaney has. no way osu should have kept that championship
Former Georgian
January 8th, 2013
4:10 pm
AP voters clearly didn’t see the first 3 1/2 quarters of last night’s game!
Krystal Burger Cop
January 8th, 2013
4:19 pm
Live update from Miami…..
I just want to report that as of now there have been no reports of Alabama fans acting improper toward ND fans. We did find one ND fan passed out in Krystals but we quickly moved him to a safe location before a Bama fan came and sat on his head butt naked. Krystal is really trying to crack down on Bama fans no pun inteded, however we must protect the safety of other patrons.
Wait a minute… it appears we have a Bama fan dropping his droors. I will report back ASAP.
Athensdawg
January 8th, 2013
4:53 pm
Buckeye
It is simple playing in the SEC makes there champion that much stronger. Bama played TA&M, LSU, GA, MISS & Miss ST, All bowl teams. To be the best you have to play the best, playing against SEC competition is the reason that the SEC has won the last Seven BCS titles. Playing in the Big10 only builds you a resume but when it comes to the big stage your resume is exposed. OSU is very much like ND undefeated against average competition, no doubt OSU loses to Bama, GA, SC, TA&M, maybe LSU and FLA. So when we chant SEC it is because playing in the SEC makes all SEC teams stronger.
wins-by-a-link
January 8th, 2013
4:55 pm
I see at least 12 teams in the top 20 that could easily beat fhe Irish, This proves just how biased the Media is when it comes to rating teams outside the south, The media which includes AP, ESPN and most of the anouncers on ABC and CBS all show a bias against the SEC, My what they would give to see ND beat Bama, But its not gonna happen.
Alabama Dog
January 8th, 2013
5:06 pm
Independent: In Notre Dame’s case one game DID make the season. Georgia lost to South Carolina in the 5th game of their season. The Irish lost in the final game (not to mention the BIGGEST game in all college football) of their season. Sort of tough to compare the two. Georgia’s loss to South Carolina was overcome by virtue of winning the SEC East. There’s no overcoming losing in the BCS title game.
Joey
January 8th, 2013
5:10 pm
wins-by-a-link,
I think Vandy would give ND all they could handle as well . . .
Cannon Ball Butler
January 8th, 2013
5:31 pm
Teo was last seen with tire marks running up his back.
kerryb
January 8th, 2013
5:33 pm
How stupid is the media to rank a team 3rd that only played 12 games while teams like UGA had to play 13 and 14 games not to mention they were on probation. The media is really stupid .
kerryb
January 8th, 2013
5:35 pm
Does Manti Te’O mean “missed tackle” in Samoan?
Jborodawg
January 8th, 2013
5:42 pm
The playoffs aren’t gonna help that much, compared to the present BCS because…
Which teams get chosen…who does the choosing?
Jborodawg
January 8th, 2013
5:43 pm
Does any player in the NFL have a bigger neck-to-head ratio than Clay Matthews?
TERRY Y
January 8th, 2013
5:50 pm
you N D people. ha ha ha ha ….the media darlings got their a## beat..and BAD…..should be N. H….Nortre Hype! Ba ha ha ha…..any SEC shcool will whip yall….ha ha ha ha …lol…..hee hee…ha …..bunch a pretty boys…ha ha ha ..looked like little leaguers playing against a high school team!
padre
January 8th, 2013
6:20 pm
nd would lose to perhaps 4 sec teams
DP
January 8th, 2013
6:32 pm
I read a columnist who said that the best way for Te’O to record a fast time in the 40 at the NFL combine might be to have an Alabama offensive lineman throw him backwards 40 yards.
DP
January 8th, 2013
6:35 pm
Don’t know if I’ve ever seen a player’s reputation drop more in one big game than Te’O’s last night. From the Maxwell Award and talk of a first round NFL draft pick to somebody who looked like a less than average college linebacker who has no shot in the NFL. The last Notre Dame players I remember who was that overrated was Rick Mirer, a QB who was the second pick in the NFL draft and turned out to be a colossal bust.
zbulldawg
January 8th, 2013
6:40 pm
Agree ND couldn’t beat Fla. S.C. Texas A&M LSU or UGA. That’s goes for Ohio St. too. It’s going to be interesting to see how they pick the playoff teams in the future. The only team I see out there who might I mean Might match up with team speed Might be Ore. The SEC defenses are WAY above all in college football. Our young men are bigger faster & stronger. You don’t win 7 in a row on luck. NOW back to my Dogs. LET THE BIG DAWG EAT
GT75
January 8th, 2013
6:55 pm
Gotta love those delusional UGA fans. They start every year with “We will win the National Championship because we got the greatest recruiting class”. After losing one game, it’s fire Reicht, Bobo, and Grantham”. After beating up on a bunch of cupcakes it’s “we can still be National Champions if everyone else loses”. To finally declaring “we were almost National Champions because someone else in the SEC won the National Championship” I don’t like Notre Dame, but they only had one loss playing a much tougher schedule than UGA and performed better against ranked teams than UGA.
Buzz 2011
January 8th, 2013
7:04 pm
This is as close as Dogs will be for the next 20 years,
Good run for Dog Nation..
JACKETS23
January 8th, 2013
7:36 pm
I THINK GA IS THE 4 OR 5 TEAM IN THE SEC.
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:00 pm
You techies are really struggling!!!!! Obviously, you North Avenue Trade School dudes don’t agree with the rest of the nation. By the way, did you hear that AM is returning next season just to lay another 500+++ yard game on you guys. Remember, he is that dumb UGa QB who has completed an undergraduate degree, a masters and is working on his PhD……and as a sidelight he has thrown for 300+ yards 3 straight years. Kinda like your average GT QB (Reggie Ball and company).
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:01 pm
Is Tech off probation?
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:02 pm
Any more GT Coaches arrested recently? 2 in 2 years has to be a record!!!!
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:04 pm
Where does the ACC store confiscated championship trophies?
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:05 pm
Has the former GT basketball player been convicted of that murder?
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:08 pm
UGa has players accused of underage drinking……something none of us ever did!!!
GT has players accused of purse snatching…….dang, I don’t think I remember any DAWGS doing something like that!!!!
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:15 pm
OK, OK, I’ll stop if you obnoxious techies will shut the heck up and get off these UGa blogs!!! I’m fascinated how you think GT is so pure and holy. P.S. Vandy or Ole Miss could have beaten USC by 5+ TDs. Did you notice that in their last 2 games Vandy beat 2 ACC teams by over 10 TDs, but who’s counting!!!! Of course you tech fans mention #20 Vandy frequently when they talk about UGa’s easy schedule. You guys are morons…..total and absolute morons!!!,
Buzz-off
January 8th, 2013
8:23 pm
@GT75
some of the closest and toughest games ND had were against USC, OK, MI and Pitt (3OTs)
please my friend……..Ole Miss who UGa played annihilated Pitt, Texas A&M destroyed OK, Bama wiped out MI and GT beat USC (that truly proves USC sucks). ND did NOT play a tougher schedule than UGa….you are totally off base dude.
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
January 8th, 2013
8:29 pm
BUCKEYE rides the “short bus”!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brainiac (CMR/UGA Fan For Life)
January 8th, 2013
8:51 pm
@ Independent:
What your shallow mind fails to grasp is that UGA purposely allowed USCe to win and the reason is simple.
Spurrier will eventually self destruct if he keeps getting close and fails to win an NC at USCe. His health has deteriated to the point that 1 or 2 more finishes behind UGA and he will be headed for the “Looney House”.
LMAO
Sambo 4 Rambo
January 8th, 2013
8:55 pm
So we lost to Bama by 4 points, but lost to South Carolina by 28. South Carolina would roll past Bama by 3 TD’s and absolute demolish Notre Dame! South Carolina should be National champs!! Hahaha! Example of how dumb we are looking on this blog. Also, who gives a shit about the final rankings? Nobody will remember who finished 2nd in about 2 years, seriously. And Its sad to see other Ga. fans trying to “justify” or “argue” with other bloggers about this. Dont argue with these piss ants, man! UGA is at a point where we have turned the page and dont have to justify shit anymore…at 12 wins a year you dont have to. Its all good here in Athens, baby!
Don Parker
January 8th, 2013
10:53 pm
You Mutt fans see3m to forget that yu were beaten 35 to 7
officialdawgcritizer
January 8th, 2013
11:05 pm
The Dawgs can not run with the big dogs because of mid-level coaching. Tremendous talent every year but poorly coached. always a brridesmaid but never the bride. No NT with these coaches. That’s just the way it will be. Ga coaching would have let the team quit at halff time with that lead and take off the 3rd and 4th quarters until 3 min left in the game , then play like hell tring to regain the lead they had allowed ND to build up during that time. Sorry, folks that just the way it is and you knoe it.
Disgusted Dawg
January 8th, 2013
11:09 pm
SEC teams that would beat the poo piut of Notre Dame:
Vandy
Ole Miss
UGA
UF
SC
LSU
Bama
A&M
Other teams that would give ‘em a big problem:
Tenn
Miss State
Teams that might actually beat Notre Dame:
Mizzou
KY
Arkansas
Teams that wouldn’t stand a chance:
Auburn (sad, really, sorry but Auburn has hit rock bottom)
just sayin
January 8th, 2013
11:37 pm
Notre Dame is a FRAUD and a disgrace to college football. There are 7 or 8 teams in the SEC that would hand their a$$ to them. What a phony fraud! Another thing, if this linebacker for the phony Irish is so good…where was he last night. I never saw him make a single tackle, I did see him jump on the pile…when he wasn’t getting run over every other play. IF this guy was playing in the SEC he would be on the bench…another fraud. It’s a disgrace that players like Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree, Javon Clowney and the kids from Florida and LSU had to be second fiddle to this DUD. What a joke this sorry bunch from Notre Dame was to be on the same field with Alabama.
funny...
January 9th, 2013
12:16 am
Notre Dame should be ahead of Georgia, they only lost once.
Notre Dame didn’t get blown out by South Carolina.
funny...
January 9th, 2013
12:17 am
I would rather have watched Alabama play the Dolphins.
macaac
January 9th, 2013
12:39 am
No Funny, ND didn’t play have a conference championship game and they got blown out by Alabama. UGA would also blow out ND. UGA should be atleast 4th in the final rankings ND should be about 23rd, maybe.
BullDogMike
January 9th, 2013
7:31 am
The scariest thing of all this is that we were only one tattoo parlor away from having an Ohio St. Vs. ND nat’l championship game. Now that would be the biggest joke of all. Bama being left out because of one loss. BCS is a farce, polls are another joke too. Can we get on with the play-off system now Pleeeeze !
Jborodawg
January 9th, 2013
8:03 am
officialdawgcritizer@11:05 pm….The Dawgs can not run with the big dogs because of mid-level coaching. Tremendous talent every year but poorly coached…”
Rivals ESPN
2008 7th 5th
2009 6th 6th
2010 15th 12th
2011 5th 9th
Looks to me that finishing 4th or 5th (or even top 10) compares well with our recruiting. Bama’s been top five in recruiting every year under Saban. Heck, Flawduh has higher recruiting rankings than the Dawgs the last few years. So, coach Richt and staff have coached fairly well vis a vis recruiting. There are about 15-20 other programs that haven’t coached em up just as well…like Okey, Tex, USC, and even mighty Notre Dame.
peachy
January 9th, 2013
8:11 am
It’s not just UGA . Georgia Southern finished #3 in Division 1- FCS and Valdosta State is Div 2 National Champion.
Great football at all levels in the Peach State.
Jborodawg
January 9th, 2013
8:12 am
To say that any other SEC team would beat ND is an exercise in futility. We don’t know that.
But, so much for the “losing early is better than losing late in the season” argument. ND lost late and still maintained a high ranking. Go figure.
You wanta talk about programs not living up to preseason rankings…check out Okey, Tex, W Va, S Cal…yes S Cal in particular. In early Sep several pundits were falling all over themselves about W Va.
Jborodawg
January 9th, 2013
8:18 am
2012 Week one….AP Poll
1 Bama
2 USC
3 LSU
4 Oreg
5 Okey
6 FSU
7 UGA
8 Arkey
9T S Car
9T W Va
11 Mich St
12 Clemp
13 Wisc
14 Oh St
15 Va T
16 Neb
17 Tex
18 Ok St
19 Mich
20 TCU
21 Kan St
22 ND
23 Lewisburg
24 Fla
25 Stanf
Jborodawg
January 9th, 2013
8:31 am
How one guy in Macon voted in the final AP….
By Seth Emerson — semerson@macon.com
This is the ballot I just sent in to the Associated Press office:
1. Alabama
2. Oregon
3. Ohio State
4. Georgia
5. Texas A&M
6. South Carolina
7. Notre Dame
8. Stanford
9. Clemson
10. Kansas State
Independent
January 9th, 2013
9:01 am
Alabama Dog, that one game we lost was to see who finished #1. ND is not #1, so you are correct that thier is no overcoming losing that game. That game decided who was #1 and it is Alabama. However, you losing in the 5th week of the season 35-7 and then winning the rest of your games, until the biggest game of your season (SEC Champioship), a good game for sure, but you still lost, does not merrit you being #2 (or even ranked above ND). I know it and deep down you know it! We (ND, UGA) are not at the same level as Bama, as was proven through not just Monday night but the whole season. Also, who in the hell is UGA ranked above SC, when Spurrier beat the dawgs 35-7?
Truth
January 9th, 2013
9:20 am
Alabama proved that Notre Dame really isn’t worthy of a Top 10 ranking. The Irish would’ve been blown out by any of the top 6 SEC teams. That’s just the truth. If you don’t like go have a cry!
Independent
January 9th, 2013
9:42 am
Your imploring that that is the truth, but it is not the truth. But let s just say it is the truth. You lost to South Carolina 35-7…..How is Georgia considering itself as one of hte best in the SEC? You lost one hugely lopsided game, the same as ND…..Georgia should not be in the top 10…..
Independent
January 9th, 2013
9:46 am
What about Lousiville? They dominated Florida, would they be considered an elite SEC team?
Fact Checker
January 9th, 2013
1:05 pm
Georgia has more than just 5 yards to go to surpass Alabama as a football program….consider this:
- Bama had more recruited scholarship players than Georgia on its roster (i.e., Bama had 80 recruited scholarship players to start the season; UGA had 67 recruited scholarship players to start the season [would have been 68 but Kolton Houston was ruled ineligible by the NCAA])
— Bama signed 135 players (avg. 27 players/yr) the last 5 years (2008-2012) while Georgia signed 108 (avg. 21.6 players/yr); bottomline: Bama had more recruited scholarship players to cull from and hedge against attrition
- Bama had more talent than Georgia (i.e., Bama avg. 3.83 stars per scholarship player; UGA avg. 3.62 stars per scholarship player)
- Bama had a better offense than Georgia (i.e., Bama had the nation’s #12 scoring offense (38.71 ppg); Georgia had the nation’s #19 scoring offense (37.8 ppg))
— Bama had a better offensive line than Georgia (i.e., Bama’s starting OL featured 3 All-Americans [2 First Team, 1 Second Team]; Georgia’s OL didn’t have any All-Americans or All SEC players)
- Bama had a better defense than Georgia (i.e., Bama had the nation’s #1 scoring defense (10.93 ppg) and #1 total defense (250 ypg); Georgia had the nation’s #18 scoring defense (19.64 ppg) and #32 total defense (357.8 ypg))
- Bama had better Special Teams than Georgia (i.e., Bama’s Net Punting (ranked #17), Punt Returns (ranked #44), Kickoff Returns (ranked #22), Bama held opponents to 6.5 yds per punt return; Georgia’s Net Punting (ranked #56), Punt Returns (ranked #74), Kickoff Returns (ranked #55), Georgia held opponents to 11.14 yds per punt return; additionally, Bama’s placekicker was 11 for 11 on FGs (100%) and 69 of 69 on PATs (100%) while UGA’s placekicker was 8 of 14 on FGs (57.1%) and 63 of 67 on PATs (94%))
- Bama is a more disciplined team than Georgia (i.e., Bama is the least penalized team in FBS the last 5 years (in 2012, Bama was penalized 104 times for 903 yds; in 2012, Georgia was penalized 186 times for 1,448 yds; thus Georgia provided its opponents 545 more yds than Alabama))
- Bama spends more money on its football program than Georgia (i.e., Bama spent $36.9 million on its football program while Georgia spent $22.7 million; in other words, Georgia spent $14.2 million less on its football program than did Bama…or if you prefer, Bama spent 62.6% more on its football program than Georgia did); moreover, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, and LSU outspent Georgia
- Bama employs a bigger Football Staff than Georgia (i.e., Bama employs at least 7 Football Analysts (in June 2012 they had 9 per al.com article) while Georgia employs none)