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Georgia remains No. 2 in latest USA Today coaches poll

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•09/11/22•

JakeMRowe

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Photo: Tony Walsh

The latest USA Today coaches poll as Georgia standing pat at No. 2. Alabama remains at No. 1 and Ohio State sits at No. 3. The Crimson Tide garnered 39 first place votes to put them ahead of UGA, which had 25 first-place votes. The Buckeyes received one vote for the No. 1 spot.

Georgia is 2-0 on the season but the feeling was much different after each victory. The Bulldogs crushed Oregon 49-3 in the season opener, scoring touchdowns on their first seven possessions and starting the game nine of nine on third down. The Ducks were ranked No. 11 at the time and the nation took notice.

Kirby Smart’s team took on FCS opponent Samford in week two and while it won comfortably, the words crisp, clean, focused, or impressive can’t be used to describe it. Georgia scored on its first six possessions but three of those were field goals and three of those were touchdowns. The Bulldogs marched the football inside the Samford 10-yard line each time.

They went on to win 33-0 but that’s with just three points in the second half. Sixth-year senior quarterback Stetson Bennett IV reached the 300-yard mark for the second time this season and for the fourth time in his last five games dating back to last season, but he wasn’t exactly sharp. He missed touchdown opportunities on each of UGA’s first two possessions against Samford.

Neither Smart nor Bennett were happy with the way Georgia performed against Samford. That is especially true when it comes to the red zone showing.

“Any time you get in the red zone for us, it’s a priority for the offense and defense to be elite in the red zone,” Smart said after the game. “We talked all offseason about our defense. Last year it was pretty good in the red zone. The offense didn’t score the touchdowns they needed to. They did that the first game and we didn’t today. We have to go back and watch the tape. We have to get better at that. We can’t get end games just kicking field goals.”

The SEC has three teams inside the top 10 of the new coaches poll. Kentucky is the third team, coming in at No. 10 after beating Florida 26-16 on Saturday night. Arkansas ranks No. 11 after a 2-0 start. Tennessee comes in at No. 16 and Ole Miss at No. 17. Both Florida and Texas A&M remained in the top 25 despite losses. The Gators are No. 21 followed by Texas A&M at No. 22.

The Big10 also has three teams in the top 10 with Michigan at No. 4 and Michigan State at No. 9 plus Ohio State rounding out the top three. Penn State is ranked No. 23.

Georgia will open the SEC portion of its schedule on Saturday with a trip to South Carolina. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET on ESPN.

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