ATHENS, Ga. — It's official: Georgia is No. 1.
To date, the expectations for the 2008 Bulldogs were mostly, well, just expectations. But with Friday morning's news that Georgia took the top spot in the USA Today/Coaches' preseason poll, the notion that the Bulldogs should contend for a national championship this season is tangible. Georgia opens the season Aug. 30 against Georgia Southern.
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"Being No. 1 in the coaches' preseason poll does have significance, since it's one-third of the formula to decide who plays in the national championship game," Georgia coach Mark Richt said in a news release from the university. "But the postseason poll is the one that is the most important. However, I know the ranking is exciting for Georgia football and hopefully we can do our part to stay in the race."
Georgia has never been ranked No. 1 by a major poll in the preseason, according to the UGA sports communications office. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 2 by The Associated Press in 1942, No. 3 by AP in 2004 and No. 6 by AP in 1967. The highest preseason ranking they received from the coaches poll was No. 4 in 2004. Georgia finished No. 1 in 1942 in six polls but not AP.
Rounding out the top 10 in the USA Today/Coaches' poll were USC, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Florida, LSU, Missouri, West Virginia, Clemson and Texas.
Georgia has already been declared preseason No. 1 in several preseason publications, including The Sporting News, Lindy's, Blue Ribbon and the Birmingham News.
Oddly, Georgia, which finished last season ranked No. 2 by AP and No. 3 by the coaches, was not even predicted to win the Eastern Division in the SEC this season, much less the overall league championship. That distinction went to Florida.
The preseason expectations are not catching the Bulldogs by surprise.
"That's all we've heard about since last season," senior defensive tackle Jeff Owens said last week at SEC Media Days. "But we're not worried about all that. We're just trying to do what we have to do to get better every day and everything else will take care of itself."
Only two teams in the past 10 years have held onto the top ranking at the end of the season. USC (2004) and Florida State (1999) both started preseason No. 1 in AP and USA Today rankings and still finished on top.
Four teams finished second: Ohio State (2006), USC (2005), Miami (2002) and Ohio State (1998), while two teams finished third — Oklahoma (2003) and Florida (2001).
There was a split decision in 2007 for the Trojans, who finished No. 2 in USA Today and No. 3 in the AP after their Rose Bowl win against Illinois.
Nebraska fell to No. 7 in 2000 to finish with the lowest USA Today post-bowl ranking for a preseason No. 1.
Chip Towers writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. E-mail: ctowers AT ajc.com
