The Virginia Tech Hokies and Georgia Bulldogs face each other in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. | Flickr/John Trainor
The Virginia Tech Hokies and Georgia Bulldogs face each other in the 2006 Chick-fil-A Bowl in Atlanta. | Flickr/John Trainor
Powerhouse Georgia was ranked fifth in the newest AP poll ranking the top college football teams in the nation. The preseason Top 25 poll was released Aug. 16.
The top five included Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, and Ohio State. Notable teams that Georgia came out ahead of were Texas A&M, Iowa State, Cincinnati, Notre Dame and North Carolina.
"Only 3 teams ranked No. 1 in the Preseason AP Poll have won the National Championship over the last 25 years," Fox College Football tweeted. "Will @AlabamaFTBL do it again this season?"
The poll reflects the fact that Georgia are the favorites to win the Southeastern Conference (SEC) East, according to Sports Illustrated's FanNation. The next highest-ranked team in the SEC East was Florida, coming in at the No. 13. While the No. 5 rank does put Georgia on the border of being outside of the elite teams in college football, it is also widely considered to be a fair ranking, according to FanNation. While Georgia has all-conference talent on both offense and defense, FanNation reports that there are some question marks.
"The biggest question surrounding the team at this point is who will be the No. 1 playmaker?" FanNation said.
The team has a lot of solid, steady talent, but what they are lacking is superstars, according to FanNation. Wide receiver George Pickens would be the closest thing the team has to a premier talent, but he's coming off of ACL surgery and won't be available for at least a few months, FanNation said. Arik Gilbert transferred in to fill the void left by Pickens, but he is now away from the team dealing with personal issues, FanNation reported.
Despite the lack of superstar power, the Bulldogs still figure to be the perennial powerhouse that they always seem to be, FanNation said. They have several strong young receivers and have a number of other players ready to take the next step this season, and have JT Daniels and defense tackle Jordan Davis returning, according to FanNation.
Perhaps the best thing working in favor of Georgia this season is the schedule. The Bulldogs play a friendly schedule and have a deep enough roster to be able to compete with the top teams in the country, according to FanNation. The Bulldogs could easily find themselves among the top 2 or 3 teams by the end of the season, FanNation predicted.
The Bulldogs play their season opener Sept. 4 against the Clemson Tigers in Charlotte, North Carolina.
| RANK | TEAM |
| 1 | Alabama |
| 2 | Oklahoma |
| 3 | Clemson |
| 4 | Ohio State |
| 5 | Georgia |
| 6 | Texas A&M |
| 7 | Iowa State |
| 8 | Cincinnati |
| 9 | Norte Dame |
| 10 | North Carolina |
| 11 | Oregon |
| 12 | Wisconsin |
| 13 | Florida |
| 14 | Miami |
| 15 | USC |
| 16 | LSU |
| 17 | Indiana |
| 18 | Iowa |
| 19 | Penn State |
| 20 | Washington |
| 21 | Texas |
| 22 | Costal Carolina |
| 23 | Louisiana-Lafayette |
| 24 | Utah |
| 25 | Arizona State |
| SOURCE: Associated Press | |
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