Georgia Bulldogs Top USA Today Coaches Preseason Poll
August 1st, 2008 | Published in NCAA Football
GO DAWGS, GO DAWGS, GO DAWGS!!! Ok, it’s out of me now.
The USA Today Coaches Preseason poll was just released and the Georgia Bulldogs are sitting smack in the top spot. Does this raise expectations higher than I’m necessarily comfortable with? Yes. Will I cancel plans to sell myself on a street corner for tickets to home games? No.
It’s not that I don’t think they can pull it off, by no means. I am, however, fully aware of what has happened in the past to overconfident teams in the first few games (eh hem, Michigan), and it’s not like the schedule this year is a cake walk.
Anyway, 22 coaches thought highly enough of the Bulldogs to cast a first-place vote for them, courtesy of some very positive reports from spring practice about Matthew Stafford’s ability behind a rapidly improving offensive line, the selection of new superstar running back Knowshon Moreno as a preseason All-American and high marks for a defense that returns a lot of playmakers responsible for stifling Heisman winner Tim Tebow in Jacksonville and embarrassing a high-powered Hawaii attack in the Sugar Bowl last year. No. 2 USC and No. 3 Ohio State each received 14 first-place votes. Oklahoma, wound up with three first-place votes, and Florida received five, making them fourth and fifth in the poll, respectively.
The Bulldogs meet four teams ranked in the top 25 from this poll as part of that brutal schedule this year. They visit No. 16 Arizona State on Sept. 20 and also have dates with defending BCS champion No. 6 LSU, No. 11 Auburn and the aforementioned Florida Gators down in Jacksonville. If both Florida and Georgia play as they are supposed to this year, then the “World Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” could become a grudge match with national title implications featuring the No. 1 and most likely the No. 2, or 3, teams in the country. Especially, after the “dancing” incident at last year’s game.
This year will either be ecstatic or heart-breaking, only time will tell, but they’ve got the talent and dammit people like them.
See you in Athens….hopefully.
