ATHENS - UGA Football will open the season as the No. 3 football team in the country for the first time since 2022. Kirby Smart’s Dawgs started last season as the the season as the No. 5 team in the country in the AP Poll behind Clemson and Penn State.
Ohio State opened as the No. 1 team in the nation - in front of defending national champs Indiana. The Bulldogs are one of six teams (Texas, UGA, Indiana, Oregon, Notre Dame and Texas) that are considered relative favorites to win it all this winter. 2025 was the lowest pre-season ranking UGA had since starting off the 2021 season ranked No. 5.
Before 2023, UGA had not started a season ranked No. 1 since 2008, which was Matthew Stafford’s final season at Georgia. Georgia is coming off a 12-2 season in 2025 that saw the Dawgs win their 16th SEC Championship. UGA beat three teams that finished the 2024 season ranked in the final top 12 of the season.
This year the Bulldogs are set to take on three teams ranked in the pre-season top 25 (No. 11 Alabama, No. 10 Ole Miss and No. 9 Oklahoma).
Georgia will begin fall camp this week. Insiders told Dawg Post that the Bulldogs have some special players at one spot in particular.
“I hope they play as many as possible,” one insider said of the tight ends. “Those guys are different.”
Georgia was also picked by the media at the 2026 SEC Football Media Days to beat Texas for the SEC Championship in Atlanta this December.
Kirby told reporters in 2024 that he doesn’t pay attention to pre-season rankings.
“I've never honestly paid any attention to it, and we don't talk about it as a team. The expectation is we're going to develop and worry about today's day, and we don't think about that.”
2026 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
- Ohio State (38)
- Oregon (6)
- Georgia (7)
- Texas (2)
- Notre Dame (5)
- Indiana (14)
- Miami
- Texas A&M
- Oklahoma
- Ole Miss
- Alabama
- Texas Tech
- LSU
- USC
- BYU
- Michigan
- Penn State
- Tennessee
- Washington
- SMU
- Utah
- Iowa
- Clemson
- Houston
- Missouri
UGA Pre-season Ranking in Coaches’ Poll by Year
2025 - 4th
2024 - 1st
2023 - 1st
2022 - 3rd
2021 - 5th
2020 - 4th
2019 - 3rd
2018 - 4th
2017 - 15th
2016 - 16th
2015 - 9th
2014 - 12th
2013 - 5th
2012 - 6th
2011 - 22nd
2010 - 21st
2009 - 13th
2008 - 1st
2007 - 13th
2006 - 14th
2005 - 13th
2004 - 4th
2003 - 9th
2002 - 11th
2001 - NR
2000 - 11th
1999 - 13th
1998 - 13th
1997 - NR
1996 - NR
1995 - NR
1994 - 24th
1993 - 13th
1992 - 16th
1991 - NR
1990 - NR
1989 - NR
1988 - 12th (AP)
1987 - 20th (AP)
1986 - NR
1985 - NR
1984 - NR
1983 - 15th (AP)
1982 - 7th (AP)
1981 - 10th (AP)
1980 - 16th (AP)
1979 - 11th (AP)
1977 - 19th (AP)
1976 - 16th (AP)
1972 - 17th (AP)
1971 - 18th (AP)
1969 - 8th (AP)
1967 - 6th (AP)
1960 - 13th (AP)
