Georgia maintains spot atop coaches poll for week seven
The latest US LBM/USA Today coaches poll is out and Georgia, for the seventh straight week, is in the No. 1 spot. That’s where the Bulldogs started this preseason and, this week, for the first time in maybe a month, it actually feels like that’s where the Bulldogs belong.
Georgia pummeled Kentucky 51-13 on Saturday for its 23rd straight win as a program and 23rd consecutive win at home. It was a battle of the final two unbeaten teams in the SEC and the Wildcats entered the game ranked No. 20 in both polls.
With UGA taking home 61 of the 64 possible first place votes, up from 59 last week, the rest of the top 10 is as follows: No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State (2 first place votes), No. 4 Florida State, No. 5 Penn State, No. 6 Washington (1 first place vote), No. 7 Oklahoma, No. 8 Oregon, No. 9 USC and No. 10 Alabama.
Georgia struggled in its first two SEC games of the season. It trailed South Carolina 14-3 at the half before scoring 21 unanswered to beat the Gamecocks 24-14. When the Bulldogs traveled to Auburn eight days ago, it fell behind 10-0 before tying the game and then trailed 17-10 before going on a 17-3 run to win 27-20.
The Bulldogs scored 14 points in the first quarter against the Wildcats, almost matching their first-quarter total through the first five games combined. Carson Beck, in his sixth start, started the game with 12 straight completions and threw for just over 300 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.
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“I thought the crowd was electric,” Kirby Smart told reporters after the Georgia victory. “It was great to have that kind of atmosphere which we’ve had throughout the year. The fans have been really consistent and done a really good job for us. That helps our players, and I thought our players started fast. The offensive staff had a great plan and executed the plan, but at the end of the day, the ability to run the ball opens things up and gives you the ability to do a lot of things offensively which we were able to do. We probably didn’t get Kentucky’s best shot. I know they’ve got a better team than the one we played tonight, but in the SEC, humility is a week away. I’ve always said it, it’s a mantra I’ve had my whole life, and humility is always one week away in terms of your preparation, just like for us next week.”
Kentucky trailed Georgia 21-0 early in the third quarter and after cutting the lead to 14 points, the Bulldogs went on another run. By the time the game reached halftime, Georgia held a 34-7 lead.
Mark Stoops’ team battled back with a touchdown off a turnover, Beck’s third interception of the season, but Georgia put the game away after that, scoring 17 unanswered points to make it 51-13. UGA piled up 608 yards of total offense while giving up fewer than 200.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a trip to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt. Kickoff for that one is set for 12 p.m. ET and it’ll be televised by ESPN.
