For the first time since 2008, Georgia is officially ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll.

The Bulldogs continued to chug along on Saturday, winning again against a ranked opponent for the third time this season in a 34-10 win over Auburn. Georgia’s defense continued to dominate on Saturday as it has all season, while the offense made a number of explosive plays, even with limited personnel.

“Two of our DNA trademark is composure and toughness, and never has that been more evident today,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “The men in our locker room never doubted or question themselves. Guys, this was a really physical game. We’ve now had two very physical games back to back.”

The other reason Georgia moved up is that Alabama went on the road and lost to a previously unranked Texas A&M. The Crimson Tide fell behind early, only to take a 38-31 lead in the fourth quarter. Behind quarterback Zach Calzada, the Aggies rallied and knocked Alabama from the top spot and the ranks of the unbeaten. It is Alabama’s first loss since the 2019 season.

Behind Georgia, the new top 5 is Iowa at No. 2, Oklahoma at No. 3, Cincinnati at No. 4 and Alabama at No. 5.

The Bulldogs will take on another ranked team this coming Saturday, as they welcome No. 11 Kentucky into Sanford Stadium. The Wildcats are 6-0 on the season and are coming off back-to-back wins over LSU and Florida. Georgia though has not yet lost to Kentucky since Smart became the head coach at Georgia.

As Smart mentioned, Georgia is pretty banged up at the moment. Only five wide receivers played on Saturday, while starting left tackle Jamaree Salyer and starting safety Chris Smith both left the game due to injury. The Bulldogs started Stetson Bennett once again at quarterback for an injured JT Daniels.

“We were more beat up coming into it, and we’re probably more beat up coming out,” Smart said. “I’m proud of the way the guys competed, man. Golly; it was just a lot of toughness.”

Georgia and Kentucky will play at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. You can see the full Week 7 rankings for the Coaches Poll below

Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings Week 7

  1. Georgia
  2. Iowa
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Cincinnati
  5. Alabama
  6. Ohio State
  7. Michigan
  8. Penn State
  9. Michigan State
  10. Oregon
  11. Kentucky
  12. Oklahoma State
  13. Notre Dame
  14. Ole Miss
  15. Coastal Carolina
  16. Wake Forest
  17. Florida
  18. Texas A&M
  19. Arkansas
  20. BYU
  21. NC State
  22. Arizona State
  23. SMU
  24. San Diego State
  25. Clemson

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