Georgia traveled to South Bend, Ind., for the first time in the regular season and came away with a win, beating Notre Dame, 20-19, on Saturday. Along with the victory, the Bulldogs also got a boost in the SEC Country Power Poll.
The 2017 SEC Country Power Poll, consisting of 27 voters from across the country, placed Georgia in the No. 3 spot, an improvement over its No. 4 ranking in Week 1. Georgia moved ahead of Auburn, which lost to Clemson in Week 2.
Although the Bulldogs suffered from mental mistakes all Saturday night — including 12 penalties for a total of 127 yards — they were able to eke out the 1-point win thanks to a lights-out display from the defense. Notre Dame finished with 265 total yards and 55 rushing yards. Outside linebacker Davin Bellamy iced the game with a sack and forced fumble on Irish quarterback Brandon Wimbush with 1 minute, 30 seconds left on the clock.
But the story of the win was Georgia’s traveling fan base. A throng of Bulldog fans descended on South Bend, turning Notre Dame Stadium into a sea of red and black. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the presence of Georgia fans made the game easier for freshman quarterback Jake Fromm and negated the typical disadvantages the Bulldogs see on the road in the SEC.
“I’m proud of our fans,” Smart said, according to Chip Towers of DawgNation. “Proud of the fact that they came out. The video shots I saw from Chicago before the game and the takeover when we got here, that played a role in this game. So, we never felt like it was so much of a road game. I mean, there were times our quarterback was able to go on his own cadence. You don’t usually get to do on the road. You don’t get to do it on the road in the SEC; the fan base don’t let you do that. We were able to go with ours, and I thought a lot of it had to do with the red and black.”
Your Week 2 Power Poll rankings
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | 1ST PLACEVOTES | PREV | HIGHVOTE | LOWVOTE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alabama (13 - 1) | 351 | 27 | 111 | ||
| 2 | LSU (9 - 4) | 311 | 0 | 324 | ||
| 3 | Georgia (13 - 2) | 296 | 0 | 424 | ||
| 4 | Auburn (10 - 4) | 265 | 0 | 227 | ||
| 5 | South Carolina (9 - 4) | 238 | 0 | 527 | ||
| 6 | Tennessee (4 - 8) | 189 | 0 | 6413 | ||
| 7 | Florida (4 - 7) | 184 | 0 | 8413 | ||
| 8 | Mississippi State (9 - 4) | 157 | 0 | 9513 | ||
| 9 | Arkansas (4 - 8) | 123 | 0 | 7313 | ||
| 10 | Kentucky (7 - 6) | 93 | 0 | 10714 | ||
| 11 | Vanderbilt (5 - 7) | 90 | 0 | 13613 | ||
| 12 | Ole Miss (6 - 6) | 77 | 0 | 12714 | ||
| 13 | Texas A&M (7 - 6) | 59 | 0 | 11814 | ||
| 14 | Missouri (7 - 6) | 24 | 0 | 14914 |
This week's voters:Alex Hickey (SEC Country)Alex Martin Smith (SEC Country)Andrew Astleford (SEC Country)Ben Wolk (SEC Country)Blake MorganBrandon Walker (SEC Country)Chip Towers (DawgNation)Chris Kirschner (SEC Country)Christopher Walsh (SEC Country)Eric Bolin (SEC Country)Hale McGranahan (SEC Country)Joe Mussatto (SEC Country)Jordan Mcpherson (SEC Country)Justin Ferguson (SEC Country)Ken BradleyKyle Tucker (SEC Country)Lauren Shute (SEC Country)Marq Burnett (SEC Country)Mike BambachMike Griffith (SEC Country)Nick SussPete ScantleburyRyan YoungSam SpiegelmanSeth Emerson (DawgNation)Thomas Neumann (SEC Country)Trent Shadid (SEC Country)
