Georgia walked out of Tuscaloosa with a win over Alabama, claimed the No. 1 spot in the AP Poll and still somehow found itself behind Notre Dame in ESPN’s Football Power Index.
That’s the part that has people raising their eyebrows.
The updated rankings after Week 6 of the College Football season had Georgia at the top of the AP Poll after beating Alabama for the first time in Tuscaloosa since 2007. But even with that résumé-defining win, ESPN’s FPI pushed Notre Dame ahead of Georgia instead.
Not everyone was on board with Georgia at No. 1 in the AP Poll, either. Four AP Poll voters left the Bulldogs out of the top spot in their ballots. Still, the AP was the ranking that mattered this week, and Georgia will carry that No. 1 label into its game against Auburn.
The case for Notre Dame being ahead of Georgia just doesn’t hold up based on what’s happened on the field so far. The Irish haven’t beaten a ranked team yet this season, and the schedule hasn’t exactly been loaded with heavyweights. They have won those games convincingly, but Georgia did the same thing through its first five opponents before adding the Alabama win to the mix.
And Georgia’s resume doesn’t stop there. The Bulldogs also own a win over Oklahoma, and that result looks even better after the Sooners beat Texas this week.
That’s why the FPI placement feels so out of step. Georgia has the best win of the week in college football, yet ESPN’s model still points to Notre Dame. In effect, it suggests Notre Dame would be favored over Georgia on a neutral field right now, even though the Irish haven’t done enough on the field to prove that they belong above the Bulldogs.
This isn’t the first time ESPN has been off on Georgia this season, either. The network was among the first to pick Alabama over UGA last weekend, and that call didn’t age well.
Georgia may not care much what ESPN says, and there’s even an argument that the Bulldogs are better served when they hear others doubting them. That kind of bulletin-board material can still work in a season like this.
If Georgia and Notre Dame are going to settle anything head-to-head, it would have to happen in the College Football Playoff. The teams met there two years ago, and Notre Dame won that matchup. But Georgia looks very different now, and so does Gunner Stockton, who was making his first college start in that game after Carson Beck got hurt.
So if the matchup ever comes back around this season, it would carry plenty of intrigue. ESPN’s model may like Notre Dame better right now, but based on what each team has shown so far, Georgia would be hard to bet against.
In Other News...
Gunner Stockton Is Giving Georgia Fans A New Ceiling To Debate
Gunner Stockton is changing the way Georgia fans talk about the offense, and the conversation now feels bigger than one comeback win. After helping steer the Bulldogs past Alabama and into the top spot in the rankings, Stockton has become the latest reason to wonder just how high this team can climb, especially with the quarterback showing steady growth under offensive coordinator Mike Bobo.
What stood out in the moment was not just the result, but how composed Stockton looked against a familiar heavyweight. Alabama left with plenty of respect for his efficiency and his ability to keep drives alive when the game tightened, which only adds to the sense that Georgia may have found a quarterback whose ceiling is still being written. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia May Be Forced To Trust An Improvised Backfield Again
Georgia had to lean on Dwight Phillips Jr. and Bo Walker against Alabama when Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens were unavailable, and the backup arrangement held up well enough to keep the offense moving. Kirby Smart made it clear afterward that there are no plans to shuffle other players into the backfield, which leaves the Bulldogs relying on the same group if the depth chart stays thin.
Now the focus turns to Auburn, where the matchup could invite another heavy dose of the ground game if Georgias top backs remain out. The Tigers have struggled against the run, so the Bulldogs may again be asking an improvised rotation to do work that normally falls to more familiar faces, with the bigger question hanging over whether that setup can last for another SEC week. [Read more 🡒]
Georgias Young Players Just Proved How Much Kirby Smart Trusts Them
Beating Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium usually comes with a few fingerprints all over it, and Georgias latest win had plenty of them from a younger group than many expected. Peyton Woodrings 23-yard field goal sealed the 20-17 victory, while Gunner Stockton steadied the offense with 249 passing yards, a touchdown through the air and another on the ground in a game Kirby Smart described as physical from start to finish.
What stood out afterward was how much the Bulldogs leaned on freshmen in a place where every mistake gets magnified. Smart pointed to the role those young players had in the outcome, a sign that Georgia is not merely surviving with youth but trusting it in one of the toughest road environments in college football. The bigger question now is how far that confidence goes as the schedule keeps tightening. [Read more 🡒]