Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs Vault to Being Ranked No. 1 for First Time Since 2017

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ATHENS - The Georgia Bulldogs are the No. 1 team in the country. 

That’s according to the USA TODAY Sports AFCA football coaches poll, which was released Sunday midday. The Associated Press poll is expected to follow the coaches later in the afternoon. 

This isn’t the first time the Bulldogs have been the No. 1 team in the country under Kirby Smart. That happened in 2017 - the year the Bulldogs went on to win the SEC Championship and Rose Bowl Game. 

Alabama, which has been ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll since the preseason, lost last Saturday night at two-loss Texas A&M. Bama fell to No. 5 in this week’s rankings. 

Still, the Bulldogs have earned their way to the top spot - beating No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 Arkansas and No. 18 Auburn along the way this season. No. 11 Kentucky, which is undefeated and 6-0 for the first time since 1950, travels to Athens this weekend for another huge matchup for the Dawgs. The winner of that game will have the inside track to the SEC Champinship Game in Atlanta in December. 

On Saturday Georgia beat No. 18 Auburn 34-10 in front of 87,451 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium and a CBS television audience. The Bulldogs' victory was their fifth straight over the Tigers and gave them a 62-56-8 all-time advantage in the 126th rendition of the Deep South's Oldest Rivalry. Georgia has prevailed in 10 of their last 12 meetings with Auburn.

Georgia still has a road trip to Knoxville, the annual cocktail party in Jacksonville to take on No. 17 Florida and games with Missouri and Charleston Southern before travelling to Atlanta to take on the Yellow Jackets. 

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