Miami should carry a strong No. 1 ranking in the AP Top 25 while the SEC scramble continued with more upsets.
Read the full story here
SEC is definitely eating its own this year. It's brutal. Every team is struggling in the brutal week after week physical contests. Kentucky has a rough stretch about to start.
So do the Dawgs. Nothing but scrambling QBs the rest of the way in conference play.
Go Dawgs! Beat the gaytors!
Bostonian homer Mike Griffith can always be depended on to slight the Dawgs in any way he can get away with. Why in the world does he rate THE Ohio State U higher than UGA? Because he is biased, that is why. Biased against the Dawgs. This New Englander flat does not share a molecule of community with Dawgnation.
@Beachwagon — Never been to Boston, but the reason Ohio State is ranked higher than Georgia in my polll is because it lost to a ranked SEC team on the road and beat defending national champion on the road —- Georgia moved up this week in my poll, but the Bulldogs have a worse loss than the Buckeyes (Auburn) and the win at Alabama, while inspiring, was not as impressive as Ohio State's win over a high-ranked Indiana.
I do appreciate your humor and feedback, but please pick another city for me, I've never been a fan of any of the Boston sports teams and I am not especially of Bostonians as sports fans.
@SufferingInAtlanta I do wonder how it all turns out for the SEC, which we can all see is mostly superior to the Big Ten at this stage of the season, but one wonders how it will be later in the season.
Miami isn't perfect but having a guy like Malachi Toney makes them awfully tough to beat. It will be a crime if Toney walks away from his college career without a Heisman Trophy…
Mike, I get your reasoning, but I think you're giving Ohio State too much credit and Georgia too little.
First, both Ohio State and Texas were coming off the offseason when they played. Neither team had played a game yet, so that loss doesn't carry the same context as Georgia losing to Auburn in its seventh game of the season. Auburn was coming off a bye week, had extra time to prepare specifically for Georgia, and was the fresher team in the second half. Georgia was coming off an emotionally and physically demanding road win over Alabama and looked worn down as the game went on. That's context worth considering, not just an excuse.
Second, I don't see how Ohio State beating Indiana at noon on the road is more impressive than Georgia going into Tuscaloosa at night and beating Alabama in Denny Bryant Stadium. I don't care that Indiana is the defending national champion. One championship doesn't automatically make a program a perennial powerhouse, and I'm still not convinced Indiana has established itself as the kind of team that should make that win more impressive than beating Alabama on its own field. Georgia's win over Alabama carries more weight to me, especially given the environment and the history of that program.
And let's be honest about the Auburn game. Georgia had a chance to drive down the field and win it before shooting itself in the foot. That's not the same as getting thoroughly outclassed. Auburn is one of Georgia's biggest rivals, and this is the South's Oldest Rivalry. Rivalry games don't always follow the script, especially when one team has an entire bye week to prepare specifically for the No. 1 team in the country — a Georgia program that has had a target on its back ever since Kirby Smart won that first national championship in 2021. Every team that plays Georgia knows what beating the Dawgs would mean, and Auburn had extra time to prepare for that opportunity while Georgia was coming off an emotionally and physically draining win over Alabama. That's context worth considering when evaluating Georgia's loss, not just an excuse for it.
But here's the question I'd really like you to consider, Mike. When the résumés are close enough that ranking these two teams comes down to a judgment call, which quarterback would you rather have leading your team into battle when everything is on the line? Julian Sayin or Gunner Stockton?
Sayin has talent around him, including an elite wide receiver, but Stockton brings a toughness and physicality to the quarterback position that I think separates him. He's a guy who can make plays with his arm, use his legs, take a hit, and keep fighting. And when you look beyond the quarterbacks, Georgia has a strong running game that's getting healthier at running back and, in my opinion, a defense that can match up with anybody in the country.
So ask yourself this: If you had to pick one of these two teams to win a game against an elite opponent, which quarterback would give you more confidence? If your answer is Sayin, then I understand why you have Ohio State at No. 2. But if your answer is Stockton, then why shouldn't Georgia be No. 2, especially when you consider the running game, the defense, and Georgia's win in Tuscaloosa?
I'm not saying Georgia shouldn't be penalized for losing to Auburn. They should. But if you're going to weigh losses, you also have to weigh the circumstances surrounding them and give the same consideration to the quality of the wins. Georgia's win at Alabama was a statement win, and I don't think Ohio State's win over Indiana outweighs it.
You can rank Ohio State ahead of Georgia, but the argument that Ohio State has the better résumé because of those two results isn't nearly as clear-cut as you're making it sound. At some point, you have to look beyond the rankings and the final scores and ask yourself which team you actually trust more on the field. That's where I believe Georgia has a legitimate argument to be No. 2.
@BigDawg747 I think a case can be made for Georgia, especially when you consider Ohio State lost its starting quarterback. But I try to be very unbiased in the vote, and it's hard to overlook a HOME loss to an unranked opponent. Ohio State's loss is much better because it was on the road to a very good Texas team.
As for the wins, I'd agree Georgia's win over Alabama was HUGE, but it lost some steam when the Tide was trounced by Tennesseee 26-10.
Beating Indiana on the road was a better win because the Hoosiers had won 22 straight and are the defending national champs, and they have a better record than Alabama and then last year's playoff result between Indiana and Alabama kinda lingers enough to make Indiana feel legit.
When two teams are as close as Ohio State and Georgia after examining the full resumes, I also defer to recency bias, and which team looked better in the last outing. That loss to Auburn was **** — 3 turnovers, and more than 190 yards rushing given up.
Let's see how the Bulldogs look against Florida — my rankings are pretty fluid compared with most others.
Mike, if we're judging résumés, let's look at the whole picture. Ohio State lost to Texas, and Texas lost to Oklahoma — the same Oklahoma team Georgia beat convincingly. That doesn't automatically settle the debate, but it certainly complicates the argument that Ohio State has the better résumé.
Indiana's defending national championship was last year. This is a different team, and barely escaping games doesn't make them this year's champions. They're a good team, but let's stop treating last year's title like a free pass.
And here's the thing: if we're judging teams strictly by their résumés, Kentucky has a legitimate argument to be in this conversation, too. They've beaten Texas A&M, LSU, and Oklahoma, and their only loss was to Alabama. If Kentucky's résumé strengthens the argument for the SEC, it also puts Georgia's schedule and competition in a different light.
Georgia's loss to Auburn was ****. No argument there. But if the season ended today, I wouldn't automatically put Ohio State ahead of Georgia. The question isn't who had the ugliest loss. It's which team has done enough to earn No. 2. And I'm not convinced Ohio State has.
I can understand moving UCLA based on their record, so I don’t disagree. They just remind me of TCU of the 2022 season. With the disappointment that Oregon has turned out to be, they haven’t been tested. A team like Oklahoma (with 2 losses in the SEC) could thrive with that schedule!
I failed to mention that Oklahoma has 3 total losses, not just two SEC losses.
