Bulldogs ranked No. 1 in AP poll

Add another No. 1 in front of Georgia.

The Associated Press placed the Bulldogs at No. 1 for the first time in school history. Georgia earned 22 first-place votes, just enough to edge Ohio State’s 21.

The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 earlier this month in the USA Today coaches’ poll.

Coach Mark Richt relayed the news to his players before practice, though he said he didn’t receive much reaction.

“I think it’s exciting for our program for people to feel that way about us. Fires me up,” Richt said. “There’s a lot of responsibility that goes along with it, but let’s face it, the football world thinks we’ve got a shot, and they are holding us in high esteem right now, and we need to do everything in our power to keep it there.”

Rounding out the AP’s top five are Ohio State, USC, Oklahoma and Florida.

So far, the only poll that hasn’t chosen Georgia at No. 1 has been the SEC’s media poll. Instead, Florida was chosen to win the SEC East.

Before Saturday, Georgia had broken into the top five only once since the AP began releasing preseason polls in 1950. Georgia’s previous best nod was No. 3 in 2004. That year, the Dogs finished at No. 7 with a 10-2 record.

Now that Georgia holds the top rankings in both major polls, national-championship buzz will be at an all-time high. But if history has anything to say about it, Georgia doesn’t even have to be among the preseason top 10 to finish on top.

When the Bulldogs won the national championship in 1980, they were ranked 16th in the AP’s preseason poll.

Quarterback Matthew Stafford said the school’s first top ranking was an honor, but he downplayed any hype that will surely follow.

“It means nothing until you get out there on the field and prove it,” he said.

“So we got to go out there and play football the way we know how and see what happens. Coach does a good job of keeping us grounded, and I think we’re smart enough to realize that we play in the SEC, a tough conference, and it’s not going to be just given to you.”

A potential challenge facing Georgia is the schedule, which includes six teams ranked in the preseason poll (Florida, LSU, Auburn, Arizona State, Tennessee and Alabama) and a seventh (South Carolina) that sits one point behind No. 25 Pittsburgh.