The first edition of the Coaches Poll Top 25 rankings was released on Monday, with the Georgia Bulldogs coming in at the No. 1 spot.
Georgia garnered 46 first-place votes, just topping Ohio State. The Buckeyes came in at No. 2 in the rankings, followed by Oregon, Texas and Alabama to round out the top 5.
This marks the second consecutive season that the Bulldogs have had the No. 1 ranking to begin the college football season.
Georgia though did not end the year with the No. 1 ranking, as the Bulldogs lost to Alabama in the SEC championship game. The Bulldogs finished No. 3 in the final coaches poll of last season.
The Bulldogs are no stranger to lofty expectations, as this is now the fourth consecutive season that Georgia has held a No. 1 ranking.
With Georgia starting fall camp last week, the Bulldogs are focused on more important matters than where they rank in a poll.
“I don’t feel like we’re familiar with it because we just don’t pay attention to it,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I’ve never honestly paid any attention to it, and we don’t talk about it as a team. So the expectation is we’re going to develop and worry about today’s day, and really, we don’t think about that.”
The first Coaches Poll shows that the Bulldogs will have a tricky schedule this fall. Georgia has games against No. 14 Clemson, Alabama, Texas, No. 6 Ole Miss and No. 14 Tennessee. Only the game against the Volunteers will be played in Athens.
Eight of the top 16 teams in the poll come from the SEC.
Georgia opens the 2024 season against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 31.
“What we do know is that we’ve got a really tough opening opponent and we’ve got a really tough schedule,” Smart said. “I don’t know that employing a back off pace, take it easy pace lends itself to success when you’re talking about facing the schedule we have to face.”
Below you can see the full Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25 rankings. The first AP Poll Top 25 rankings come out on Monday, Aug. 12.
Coaches Poll Preseason Top 25 rankings
1. Georgia (46 first-place votes)
2. Ohio State (7)
3. Oregon
4. Texas (1)
5. Alabama
6. Ole Miss
7. Notre Dame
8. Michigan (1)
9. Penn State
10. Florida State
11. Missouri
12. LSU
13. Utah
14. Clemson
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma State
19. Miami
20. Texas A&M
21. Arizona
22. NC State
23. USC
24. Kansas
25. Iowa
