Georgia stands at the pinnacle of the AP Top 25, having garnered 46 first-place votes and 1,532 total points in the latest rankings released on Monday. This commanding lead places the SEC powerhouse well ahead of No. 2 Ohio State, which secured 15 first-place votes and 1,490 points from the voting panel.
[Related: 2024 college football rankings: RJ Young’s Ultimate 134]
Oregon, a fresh addition to the Big Ten, ranks third with one first-place vote, while Texas, now part of the SEC alongside Georgia, claims the fourth spot.
Both the Big Ten and SEC are well-represented, each boasting four teams in the top ten.
The landscape of college football has shifted significantly, reducing the Power 5 conferences to just four. The Pac-12 now consists of only two institutions, while the Big Ten has expanded to 18 schools. The ACC features 17 football teams, and both the SEC and Big 12 are home to 16.
This realignment has led to a unique preseason poll that includes teams from only four conferences. The SEC leads the pack with nine ranked teams, while the Big Ten follows with six, the Big 12 with five, and the ACC with four.
Alabama, marking its first season without legendary coach Nick Saban since 2006, starts the season ranked fifth. Ole Miss, at sixth, contributes to the SEC holding half of the top six positions.
[Related: Joel Klatt’s preseason top 25: Ohio State or Georgia at No. 1?]
Notre Dame, an independent team, ranks highest among those outside the SEC and Big Ten, coming in at seventh.
The Big Ten continues to show its strength with Penn State at eighth and Michigan at ninth, giving the conference four teams in the top ten. Florida State from the ACC rounds out the top ten at tenth.
The defending national champion Wolverines have faced significant changes, losing coach Jim Harbaugh, quarterback J.J. McCarthy, and 12 other players to the 2024 NFL Draft. This turnover has resulted in Michigan receiving the lowest preseason ranking for a defending national champion since 2011, when Auburn was ranked 23rd following Cam Newton’s exit.
Prior to this, the last defending champion to be ranked lower than seventh in the preseason poll was Colorado, which started at 13th in 1991.
Washington, which faced Michigan in the College Football Playoff National Championship, has experienced an even steeper decline after losing its head coach, star quarterback, and numerous talented players to the draft and transfer portal. The Huskies are the first team to reach the CFP and be unranked the following season.
Georgia began last season ranked first, aiming for a historic third consecutive national championship. Under the leadership of Kirby Smart, the Bulldogs maintained their top position throughout the regular season but fell short of the four-team playoff after losing the SEC title game to Alabama.
“We’re dealing with new challenges this year,” Smart remarked during SEC media days. “We don’t have a chip on our shoulder in terms of people trying to use that as motivation. I’ve never used a failure from the previous year as motivation and never used the success of a previous year as motivation; we won’t do that this year. That’s not who we are. We want to recreate ourselves to stay in the best light we can.”
The Bulldogs have an impressive record of 42-2 over the last three seasons and are poised for another strong showing. Quarterback Carson Beck is set to lead the offense, and edge rusher Mykel Williams is expected to emerge as a key defensive player for Georgia.
Beck is a rare find in college football, being a star quarterback in his fifth season at the same institution who patiently waited three years for his starting opportunity. Last year, he completed 72% of his passes, throwing for 24 touchdowns and just six interceptions.
“He is a great elder for us and a great example of resiliency in college football,” Smart noted.
The trend of starting the season as preseason No. 1 has become more common in recent years. Over the past eight seasons, Alabama has had notable streaks of three consecutive years (2016-2018) and two consecutive years (2021-2022) ranked first. Clemson also held the top spot in the preseason rankings for 2019 and 2020.
Georgia aspires to become the 12th team since the AP preseason poll began in 1950 to start and finish the season ranked first. The last team to achieve this feat was Alabama in 2017.
Here’s the complete top 25:
1. Georgia (46 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State (15 first-place votes)
3. Oregon (One first-place vote)
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
18. Kansas State
19. Miami (Fla.)
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. USC
24. North Carolina State
25. Iowa
