Georgia football ranked in top five of coaches preseason poll
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
The first coaches poll of the 2025 season was released Monday, with the Georgia Bulldogs coming in at No. 4.
The Bulldogs received three first-place votes. Georgia is coming off an 11-3 season where the Bulldogs won the SEC, but lost in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.
Ahead of Georgia in the poll is Texas at No. 1, Ohio State at No. 2 and Penn State at No. 3. This is the first time in the history of the poll Texas opens the season as the No. 1 team.
The Longhorns visit Georgia on Nov. 15, with the game set to be played in Athens. Georgia beat Texas twice last season, once in Austin and then again in Atlanta.
Georgia is one of nine SEC teams ranked in the initial poll, the most from any conference. The Bulldogs have games scheduled against five of those teams — No. 8 Alabama, No. 15 Ole Miss, No. 17 Florida and No. 18 Tennessee. LSU is No. 9, South Carolina comes in at No. 13, and Texas A&M is No. 21.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart was one of the voters in the poll, though his ballot was not made public.
As for how Smart feels about his team, the Georgia coach recognizes this is a different group in 2025 than what he has had to work with in previous seasons.
But he said he is excited for the challenge.
“It’s like the puzzle of this team is different than the puzzle of last year,” Smart said. “And being able to decipher the difference in the two teams and maybe what the wants and needs are from me. What does this team need from me? What does this staff need from me? Where can I be at my best for our team? That’s my ‘why/’”
Georgia opens the 2025 season Aug. 30 at Sanford Stadium against Marshall. The game is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
Coaches Top 25 preseason rankings
- Texas
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Georgia
- Notre Dame
- Clemson
- Oregon
- Alabama
- LSU
- Miami
- Arizona State
- Illinois
- South Carolina
- Michigan
- Ole Miss
- SMU
- Florida
- Tennessee
- Indiana
- Kansas State
- Texas A&M
- Iowa State
- BYU
- Texas Tech
- Boise State
About the Author
Connor Riley has been covering the University of Georgia since 2014 before moving to DawgNation full-time before the 2018 season. He helps in all areas of the site such as team coverage, recruiting, video production, social media and podcasting. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 2016.
