AP Poll After Week 2: Georgia Holds at No. 2 as Texas Takes the Top Spot
Georgia did not move this week. Nearly everything around it did.
The Bulldogs remain No. 2 in both the AP Top 25 and the US LBM Coaches Poll released Sunday, holding the position they have occupied since the preseason. They got there by doing exactly what a No. 2 team is supposed to do against a Conference USA opponent in September, which is to make the outcome irrelevant by the second quarter.
Georgia beat Western Kentucky 70-20 at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. Gunner Stockton threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers, tying a program single-game record, and the Bulldogs scored 49 points in the first half, matching the most they have ever scored in a half. Stockton finished 13 of 16 for 234 yards, was on the bench by the second quarter for the second straight week, and now has eight touchdown passes and no interceptions on the season.
That was more than enough to hold serve. Above Georgia, the top of the sport rearranged itself.
Texas takes over No. 1 after stunning Ohio State
Texas is the new No. 1 in both polls after erasing a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat Ohio State 24-23. The Buckeyes led 23-3 entering the final quarter before Arch Manning engineered three unanswered touchdown drives. North Carolina State transfer Hollywood Smothers scored from a yard out with 25 seconds left to finish it.
The Longhorns collected 56 of the first-place votes in the AP Top 25 and 42 in the Coaches Poll. Ohio State did not fall far, sliding from first to sixth in both polls, which is roughly the standard treatment for a one-score loss to a top-three team.
Two more top-10 teams went down the same day. Oklahoma State, which entered Saturday on a 12-game losing streak, upset No. 6 Oregon 39-31 at home and outgained the Ducks 554-281. No. 10 Oklahoma lost 17-10 at Michigan, with quarterback John Mateer throwing a late interception that set up the deciding Wolverines touchdown. Oregon dropped to No. 21 in the AP poll and Oklahoma to No. 24. Michigan climbed to No. 19 in both.
The first-place vote split is the number worth watching
Georgia picked up three first-place votes in the AP Top 25 and 15 in the Coaches Poll. That is a meaningful gap, and it tends to say more about voter behavior than about the teams.
Media voters watched Texas beat the defending No. 1 on the road and rewarded the result. Coaches, who fill out ballots with less time and more institutional loyalty, kept a larger share of their top votes with a Georgia team that has outscored two overmatched opponents 133-23 and has not yet been asked a question. Neither group is wrong. Both are guessing, and they will keep guessing until Georgia plays somebody.
That starts Saturday.
AP Top 25 after Week 2
First-place votes in parentheses.
1. Texas (56)
2. Georgia (3)
3. Notre Dame (1)
4. Indiana (3)
5. Miami (4)
6. Ohio State
7. LSU (1)
8. Ole Miss
9. Texas A&M
10. Alabama
11. BYU
12. USC
13. Texas Tech
14. Penn State
15. Tennessee
16. SMU
17. Utah
18. Iowa
19. Michigan
20. Missouri
21. Oregon
22. Houston
23. Louisville
24. Oklahoma
25. Virginia
Others receiving votes: Washington 172, Florida 83, Boise State 57, Oklahoma State 36, Western Michigan 35, Tulsa 18, Mississippi State 17, South Carolina 15, Virginia Tech 11, UCLA 9, James Madison 6, Arizona 5, North Dakota State 3, Pittsburgh 1, Kansas State 1.
US LBM Coaches Poll after Week 2
First-place votes in parentheses.
1. Texas (42)
2. Georgia (15)
3. Notre Dame (4)
4. Indiana (10)
5. Miami (2)
6. Ohio State
7. LSU (1)
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Alabama
11. USC
12. Texas Tech
13. BYU
14. Tennessee
15. Penn State
16. SMU
17. Utah
18. Oregon
19. Michigan
20. Iowa
21. Oklahoma
22. Missouri
23. Houston
24. Washington
25. Virginia
Others receiving votes: Florida 183, Louisville 160, Boise State 44, Kansas State 24, South Carolina 23, Mississippi State 20, Vanderbilt 19, Duke 19, Nebraska 18, Pittsburgh 16, Oklahoma State 16, Auburn 15, Western Michigan 10, Virginia Tech 9, UCLA 8, Tulsa 7, North Dakota State 5, New Mexico 4, Clemson 3, Wake Forest 1, Arizona 1.
Nine SEC teams in the Top 25
The conference put nine teams in the AP Top 25: Texas at No. 1, Georgia at No. 2, LSU at No. 7, Ole Miss at No. 8, Texas A&M at No. 9, Alabama at No. 10, Tennessee at No. 15, Missouri at No. 20 and Oklahoma at No. 24. The Coaches Poll lists the same nine programs with minor reshuffling, moving Texas A&M ahead of Ole Miss and Oklahoma ahead of Missouri.
For Georgia, the relevant piece of that is the back half of the schedule. Playing in a conference with that much ranked inventory is a liability in September and an asset in December, when the selection committee starts weighing who beat whom.
What it means for Georgia in Week 3
The Bulldogs open SEC play at Arkansas on Saturday at noon ET. The Razorbacks are unranked and received no votes in either poll, which makes this the third straight week Georgia will be favored by a wide margin and the first week that a loss would genuinely cost something.
Kirby Smart has spent both postgame sessions this season pushing back on the idea that any of the production so far means anything. He has a point. Georgia has not trailed, has not attempted a field goal with its starters on the field, and has played four quarterbacks in each of the last two games. The Bulldogs have 12 different players with a reception and 12 with a carry over the past week. That is depth, and it is also what happens when the game is over at halftime.
After Arkansas comes No. 24 Oklahoma in Athens on Sept. 26, which will be the first real measurement of this team. If Georgia is still No. 2 on Sept. 27, the ranking will finally mean something.
