Tag: cfb top 25

ESPN releases Way-Too-Early CFB Top-25: Where is Georgia football?

ESPN has released their annual “Way-Too-Early” College Football Top-25. See where Georgia football ranks among the list.

ESPN released their Way-Too-Early College Football Top 25 list on Wednesday.  The list is made as a rough estimate as what to expect for the upcoming season but isn’t perfect, as stated in the title.

For the most part the rankings look pretty solid.  The top 10 starts with Notre Dame at #10, Oklahoma at #9, LSU at #8, Florida at #7 and Oregon at #6.

The reason LSU dropped to #8 after winning the National Championship is rather obvious.  They will be without Heisman Trophy winner and possibly the greatest college quarterback ever Joe Borrow, offensive coordinator Joe Brady, defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and a handful of juniors heading to the NFL Draft.

The top 4 looks very solid with the Dawgs at the #4 spot, Alabama at #3, Ohio State at #2 and Clemson at #1.  Of the 25, six teams are from the SEC.

This is looking like it is going to be not only an exciting but very competitive season.

Georgia football highest SEC team in PFF’s 2020 Top-25; Florida Gators low

Georgia football checked in very high in PFF’s preseason college football rankings while the Florida Gators were low.

Georgia football will once again be one of the highest ranked teams in college football heading into the 2020 season.

There were some big question marks surrounding the 2020 Bulldogs, however, a big one was cleared up when Georgia was able to reel in Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman to replace Jake Fromm in Athens.

And that’s a big reason why Georgia checked in at No. 3 in PFF’s “Way-too-early” Top-25 rankings, the highest of any SEC school.

The two teams ahead of the Dawgs, according to PFF, are Ohio State at No. 1 and Clemson at No. 2.

Other SEC schools inside the rankings include: Alabama (5), LSU (6), Florida (19), Auburn (20).

Florida fans reading this cannot be happy with that low ranking, seeing as how the Gators have cracked a lot of top-10s in the past few weeks.

For Georgia, PFF loves the addition of Newman, saying:

And they were fortunate enough to land the biggest graduate transfer of this offseason in Jamie Newman. During Newman’s 2019 season at Wake Forest, he displayed traits that Jake Fromm couldn’t touch — such as tight-window accuracy and effective deep passing — while displaying far superior athleticism. His tight-window passing grade and deep-passing grade (20-plus yards) both were second to only Joe Burrow this season. That’s pretty good company. Getting him out of Wake Forest’s up-tempo, RPO system will allow Newman to do what he does best — beat defenses with his arm instead of his legs.

Georgia also returns almost everyone from what was college football’s most ferocious defense last season. Additionally, George Pickens is due for a big sophomore season at wide receiver along with Zamir White at running back.

There’s still some concern at the offensive line position. The five starters that Georgia fields on day one will be elite, but it’s the depth that concerns me the most. Georgia lost four of its five starters to the NFL Draft or to transfer.

Where’s Georgia football in ESPN’s way-too-early CFB top-25?

Where did ESPN put Georgia football in the way too early CFB rankings for 2020?

Coming off another season that saw Georgia play for the SEC Championship Game, win 10+ games and come oh so close to making a return trip to the College Football Playoff, there are reasons for both optimism and skepticism in 2020.

In Mark Schlabach’s ‘Way Too Early CFB Top-25’ for 2020, he placed the Dawgs at No. 6 in the country. A pretty safe location for a team that has both serious question marks and returning talent.

From Schlabach:

Outlook: Georgia fans who weren’t happy with the team’s offense in 2019 will get their wish with a complete face-lift. Fromm, a three-year starter and most accurate passer in school history, is off to the NFL draft, along with three starting offensive linemen. Sophomore Cade Mays decided to transfer to Tennessee. Georgia scoured the graduate transfer market for a starting quarterback, and Wake Forest’s Jamie Newman has enrolled in classes at Georgia and will participate in spring practice. Changes are expected on Kirby Smart’s offensive staff as well. Keep an eye on former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Todd Monken. Georgia’s defense carried the load in 2019 and should be stout again, especially with safety Richard LeCounte, linebacker Monty Rice and cornerback Eric Stokes electing to return. The Bulldogs open the season against Virginia in Atlanta and play at Alabama on Sept. 19 and against Florida in Jacksonville, Florida, on Oct. 31.

Georgia rivals and opponents also ranked:

Clemson (1), Alabama (3), LSU (4), Florida (7), Auburn (12), Tennessee (25).

I think No. 6 is a fine spot to be right now for Kirby Smart and Georgia.

For starters, the Dawgs are losing so much talent on an offense that left plenty to be desired in 2019.

Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift, Lawrence Cager: Gone.

Four starting offensive linemen (Andrew Thomas, Isaiah Wilson, Cade Mays, Solomon Kindley): Gone.

All-American kicker Rodrigo Blankenship: Gone.

On defense, the Dawgs lose safety J.R. Reed, who many considered the heart and soul of Georgia’s incredible defense in 2019.

That sounds bad, yes. But there’s still a lot of reasons why the Dawgs should be back in Atlanta playing in its fourth consecutive SEC title game.

Practically the whole defense returns. That’s the same defense that was the nation’s best in 2019.

And despite all the losses on offense, the Dawgs have plenty of returning and incoming talent.

For starters, Georgia recently landed Wake Forest graduate transfer quarterback Jamie Newman. If you have not seen his tape from last season, check it out. The dude is a baller.

At running back, Georgia will reload as it always does and has Zamir White and James Cook returning. Not to mention the addition of 5-star back Kendall Milton.

Our receivers will be fine. George Pickens is destined for a massive sophomore season and we have four 4-star wide receivers.

And the offensive line. That is what hurts the most. We had depth last season, which is what made them so great. Next season, there will be elite talent, but the depth will not be close to what it was this year. Fingers crossed that everyone stays healthy.

Sad Alabama football fans tweet after dropping out of top-10 in CFP rankings

Sad Alabama football fans tweet after the Crimson Tide drop out of the top-10 in the CFP rankings.

After Alabama lost to Auburn on Saturday in the Iron Bowl, the Crimson Tide have fallen outside of the top-ten in the College Football Playoff rankings for the first time I can remember.

All November, my favorite part of the Tuesday night rankings reveal centered around angry Alabama fans voicing this displeasure of being ranked behind Georgia, which has sat at No. 4 since the initial reveal.

Now, the Tide are at No. 12, and their fans don’t really have an argument for being inside the top-ten, but that did not stop the fans from spazzing out on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/nathaneurton/status/1202042355546820608

 

 

CFP rankings revealed ahead of LSU vs Georgia

The College Football playoff rankings have been revealed ahead of Georgia football’s SEC Championship Game vs LSU.

This weekend, it’s win and you’re in for Georgia.

The Dawgs, which remained the highest ranked one-loss team in the College Football Playoff rankings since the first reveal of the season, held onto that spot as we enter conference championship weekend.

This Saturday, it will be No. 4 Georgia vs No. 2 LSU in Atlanta.

Much of the reason for Georgia’s high ranking has to due with who the Bulldogs have beaten. That includes three top-15 wins over Florida (9), Auburn (11) and Notre Dame (15).

Here is the full top-15:

1. Ohio State

2. LSU

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Utah

6. Oklahoma

7. Baylor

8. Wisconsin

9. Florida

10. Penn State

11. Auburn

12. Alabama

13. Oregon

14. Michigan

15. Notre Dame

Former UGA football WR Mecole Hardman tweets thoughts on CFP rankings

Former Georgia football wide receiver Mecole Hardman gave his thoughts on the newest CFP rankings and added an interesting twist.

Former Georgia wide receiver Mecole Hardman, now having a sensational rookie season with the Kansas City Chiefs, gave his thoughts on the most recent College Football Playoff rankings Tuesday.

After beating Penn State, the Buckeyes jumped LSU and claimed the No. 1 spot in the rankings. College football fans are split on the committee’s decision, and Hardman is one who disagrees with the order.

Yeah, the OSU win was nice, but LSU has been doing that all season.

Here are Hardman’s thoughts on the rankings.

Amway Coaches Poll released after Week 13: Where’s Georgia football?

Where is Georgia football in the newest Amway Coaches Poll?

Week 13 has come to an end and we are moving closer to conference championship weekend and the College Football Playoff.

Georgia, which was No. 4 last week, took care of business (for the most part) in a win over Texas A&M and remained at No. 4.

The biggest win of the weekend came from Ohio State, which took down Penn State in Columbus.

LSU looked good against a terrible Arkansas team, but did allow the Razorbacks, who have the 106th ranked offense, to score 20 points.

The biggest loss of the weekend was from Oregon, which now has two losses. The Ducks fell from No. 6 to No. 13.

Here is the new top-ten in the Amway Coach Poll, powered by USA TODAY Sports.

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Alabama

6. Utah

7. Oklahoma

8. Florida

9. Minnesota

10. Baylor

Georgia now has wins over four teams that were ranked at the time of the game.

The Dawgs beat Auburn, Florida, Notre Dame and A&M (the Aggies were ranked No. 24 last week).

Georgia football RB D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia running back D’Andre Swift tells it how he sees it on offense

Georgia football running back D’Andre Swift played in what might have been his final home game at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, going out with a W one last time.

Though the Bulldogs were able to beat the nearly ranked Aggies of Texas A&M on senior day, the win wasn’t pretty from an offensive perspective.

Swift mentioned his frustrations with the offense and even got on to Fromm a bit during the game, with love of course.

“For us to get to where we want to go, we have to get better on offense.”

Against the Aggies, Swift carried the offense all game. 19 times and put up 103 rushing yards and 29 receiving yards. However, the offense failed to convert Swift’s yards into points. His frustration was justified, but he and Fromm are fine and understand that it’s just part of the game.

Georgia will have a mini bye-week in Atlanta next week to right the ship against Georgia Tech before facing the daunting LSU offense in The Benz. Time will tell if the Dawgs can turn it around and use better weather conditions to their advantage on the scoreboard.

Paul Finebaum gives his top-six following Week 13

Paul Finebaum released his new top-six after Week 13. Where is Georgia football?

Following a Week 13 that saw Georgia’s offense struggle in a win over Texas A&M, the SEC Network’s Paul Finebaum released his new top-six teams as we creep closer to the College Football Playoff.

This weekend, the CFP’s top five teams all took care of business, but No. 6 Oregon’s CFP dreams came to an end with a loss to Arizona State.

1) LSU beat Arkansas by almost 40 points, but the Tigers defense managed to allow 20 to Arkansas, which has the nation’s 106th ranked offense.

2) Ohio State looked good again in a win over top-ten Penn State, but Justin Fields did fumble three times.

3) Clemson took a bye week ahead of its game vs South Carolina next weekend.

4) Georgia, No. 4, looked like, well, Georgia. The defense played great as it usually does, but the offense continued to show its inability to find the end zone yet again. The thing is, we can’t blame offensive coordinator James Coley for this one. Jake Fromm missed two, maybe three touchdown passes vs the Aggies. Coley called a game that should have yielded 30+ points. They just need to execute better.

5) Alabama looked fine in a big win over Western Carolina.

6) Oregon went down to Arizona State 31-28.

Finebaum, who said that he thinks Georgia can still win it all, left the Bulldogs in his top-four and seems pretty high on the Dawgs and their style of play.

Utah found its way into the top-six thanks to the Oregon loss.

Here is his new top-six.

Angry Tweets: CFB fans react to Georgia’s No. 4 ranking

Angry college football fans tweet after Georgia football checked in at No. 4 in the CFP Rankings.

On Tuesday night, Georgia checked in at No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, remaining the highest ranked one-loss team.

According to the most recent edition of the CFP rankings, Georgia’s ranked wins include:

No. 16 Notre Dame

No. 10 Florida

No. 15 Auburn

The full top-six is as follows:

1. LSU

2. Ohio State

3. Clemson

4. Georgia

5. Alabama

6. Oregon

Surprisingly, Texas A&M, which Georgia hosts this weekend, remained unranked despite checking in at No. 23 in both the Amway Coaches Poll and the AP Top-25.

Following the release of the rankings, college football fans gave their thoughts on Twitter.

Originally, I was planning on making this an article that included happy tweets from UGA fans. Then, as I browsed Twitter all I saw was triggered fans of other schools…mostly Alabama. 

Enjoy.