The Georgia Bulldogs, for the first time since the days of Herschel Walker in November 1982, are the #1 ranked team in America in a regular season Associated Press poll, with unbeaten UGA moving up one spot after Alabama’s stunning defeat at Texas A&M on Saturday night.
Georgia, looking every bit of a role of a powerhouse program in 2021, received all 62 first-place votes, while Alabama fell four spots to the #5 spot in the country. Texas A&M, after picking up the program’s biggest victory in the coaching tenure of Jimbo Fisher, returned to the rankings at #21.
In the Big Ten Conference, there are five teams ranked in the top 10, setting a new record for the 14-team league, with Iowa setting the pace at #2, following the Hawkeyes come-from-behind victory over Penn State on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City. The Nittany Lions fell to #7, surpassed by the surging Ohio State Buckeyes, who check in at #6. Michigan, coming off a hard-fought Saturday night win at Nebraska, sits at #8, with Michigan State #10. Never before in the 85 year history of the AP has the Big 10 had five top-10 teams.
The Cincinnati Bearcats continue to appear to have a good chance of reaching the College Football Playoff from the non-Power 5 American Athletic Conference, with Luke Fickell’s squad #3 this week, followed by Oklahoma. Â
Oregon is #9 while Kentucky, heading into the program’s biggest game in decades, Saturday afternoon at #1 Georgia in a battle of SEC East unbeatens, is #11, UK’s best ranking since 2011.
