CNN
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The Georgia Bulldogs were voted the best college football team in the Associated Press’ annual preseason Top 25 poll for the second consecutive year.
Georgia received 46 of 62 first-place votes and 1,532 points, comfortably ahead of the Ohio State Buckeyes, who received 15 first-place votes. The Oregon Ducks finished third with one first-place vote.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 13-1 season that culminated in a 63-3 victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. They were seeking their third consecutive national title in 2023 and remained ranked No. 1 throughout the regular season before being defeated by Alabama in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) championship game. They were subsequently not selected for that year’s College Football Playoff.
Georgia is led on offense by quarterback Carson Beck and the stout defense is led by edge rusher Mykel Williams, linebacker Smael Mondon Jr. and All-American safety Malaki Starks. Three-time SEC Coach of the Year Kirby Smart leads the team from the sidelines.
Their top spot in the AP rankings reflects last week’s Coaches Poll, which also ranked the Bulldogs as the nation’s best team.
The AP poll also tells the story of a broader conference realignment in college sports. Several schools have switched conferences, massively upending the status quo. Among other things, the SEC and Big 12 conferences now have 16 members each, the Big Ten has 18, and the Pac-12 has been nearly wiped out, with just two schools remaining.
No. 4 Texas joins Georgia in the SEC this season, while Oregon is now a Big Ten member alongside Ohio State. The only teams in the top 10 outside of those two conferences are independent Notre Dame and Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
These changes have created a unique preseason list with only four conferences represented – the Big 12 has five teams in the top 25.
The poll also raises other discussion points, such as the fall of reigning national champion Michigan from the top spot at the end of last season to ninth place after head coach Jim Harbaugh moved to the Los Angeles Chargers in the NFL and 12 of his players – including starting quarterback JJ McCarthy – were drafted into the league.
Alabama remains in fifth place and enters its first season since 2006 without Nick Saban at the helm.
Washington, Michigan’s opponent in the national championship game, dropped dramatically from the top 25 after head coach Kalen DeBoer left to replace Saban at Alabama while several key players moved on to the NFL, including quarterback Michael Penix Jr. and wide receiver Rome Odunze, who were selected eighth and ninth, respectively.
1. Georgia
2. State of Ohio
3. Oregon
4. Texas
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre-Dame
8. Penn State
9. Michigan
10. State of Florida
11. Missouri
12. Utah
13. LSU
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. State of Oklahoma
18. State of Kansas
19. Miami
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. Kansas
23. USC
24. State of North Carolina
25. Iowa
