Georgia made its push in the Week 4 AP Poll, but Texas held onto the top spot.
After Georgia rolled Oklahoma 41-13, the Bulldogs looked like they had a real argument for No. 1. The voters still stayed with Texas, though the gap narrowed a bit.
Texas remained No. 1 with 1,737 points, while Georgia climbed to 1,646. That trimmed the Longhorns’ lead to 91 points, down from 126 last week when Texas held a 1,707 to 1,580 edge.
The first-place vote count also shifted, even if Texas still controlled that category comfortably. The Longhorns went from 58 first-place votes to 62, while Georgia moved from three to six.
For AP voters, Texas’ résumé still carries the edge because it has two ranked wins and Georgia has none. But Georgia is making a loud case with the way it’s handling teams. The Bulldogs are 4-0 and have blown through every opponent so far, winning by 60 in their opener, by 50 in their second game, and then by 28 in back-to-back SEC wins.
Texas’ case is different. Its biggest win came against then-No.
1 Ohio State, but the Longhorns were down 20 entering the fourth quarter before rallying to win by one. That comeback deserves credit, but it doesn’t carry the same authority as Georgia’s steady run of lopsided wins.
Texas also picked up a three-point win over then-No. 14 Tennessee on Saturday. The problem is that Tennessee still hasn’t beaten anyone with a pulse this season, so that result may not look as strong later on as it does right now.
So both teams have a path to the top, and both still have chances to strengthen their claim. If they keep winning, the real answer could eventually come in the SEC Championship game, where two 12-0 teams would get to settle it on the field.
In Other News...
Georgia Has One Dangerous Problem Heading Into Vanderbilt
Georgia has spent this season looking every bit like a team that expects to keep winning, and the matchup with Vanderbilt fits the same script on paper. The Bulldogs are undefeated, favored again, and coming off a run of steady, no-drama performances that have kept them in the thick of the national conversation while the rest of the league keeps trying to catch up.
Still, there is a little extra edge to this one because Vanderbilts quarterback is freshman Jared Curtis, who was once committed to Georgia before ending up with the Commodores. The bigger concern for the Bulldogs, though, is less about the opponent than about themselves and whether they can stay locked in for four quarters, since the season has shown they can control games when they stay sharp and leave openings only when their focus slips. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Hinted At A Bigger Georgia Role Fans Will Notice
With Vanderbilt next on the schedule, Kirby Smart used his weekly availability to touch on the usual game-week checkpoints and a few broader themes around Georgias roster. He praised Clark Leas work with the Commodores, pointed to players such as Jared Curtis and Thomas Blackshear as part of the discussion, and walked through the kind of injury and practice updates that tend to shape how the Bulldogs prepare from one Saturday to the next.
Smart also spent time on the kind of player development questions Georgia fans tend to notice over the course of a season, offering thoughts on London Humphreys, JJ Hane, Dwight Phillips and Jordan Hall. Taken together, the remarks suggested a coach looking beyond the immediate matchup, with more attention on how individual roles are taking shape and where the Bulldogs may be leaning as SEC play keeps moving forward. [Read more 🡒]
Brock Bowers Is Already Giving Georgia Fans A Reason To Watch
Brock Bowers wasted no time reminding everyone why Georgia fans still track his every move on Sundays. Back from a knee injury, the former Bulldogs star was the focal point of the Las Vegas Raiders offense in a 35-27 win over the New Orleans Saints, piling up 10 catches for 116 yards and a touchdown in a performance that looked awfully familiar to anyone who watched him in Athens.
There was more Georgia flavor in the result, too, with Nakobe Dean leading the Raiders defense with a team-high 12 tackles and helping close the door with a game-sealing fumble recovery. At 3-0, Las Vegas is leaning on multiple former Bulldogs in all three phases, and for Georgia fans, that makes the Raiders an especially relevant watch even before the full story of this season takes shape. [Read more 🡒]