How the Top 25 should look: Georgia deserves No. 1 spot after day of upsets

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama — Georgia’s 20-17 win over Alabama on Saturday night should move the Bulldogs into the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 poll when it comes out on Sunday.

It will be the first time since Week 2 of the 2024 season that Coach Kirby Smart’s Georgia football team has been ranked No. 1. The Bulldogs lost the top spot that week after a tight, 13-12 road win at Kentucky.

Ironically enough, the team that replaced Georgia that week in 2024 was Texas, which the Bulldogs should be replacing this week.

The previously unbeaten Longhorns suffered a 27-24 loss to unranked Oklahoma on a last-second field goal in the Red River Rivalry Game at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

It was a day of upsets in college football, and particularly in the SEC, where Kentucky —which dropped out of the AP Top 25 last week despite a win over South Carolina — scored a 35-34 win over LSU in overtime.

The upset alarm bells were going off early in the day when South Carolina coach Shane Beamer led the Gamecocks to a stunning 38-19 win over then-No. 16 Florida at The Swamp.

The victory ended South Carolina’s eight-game losing streak in SEC action, which dated back to a 2024 campaign that saw the Gamecocks narrowly miss making the 12-team College Football Playoff field.

It was the second straight loss for first-year coach Jon Sumrall, who, since knocking off an unbeaten, top-five Ole Miss team three weeks ago, has seen his Gators outscored 83-36, including a 45-17 loss at Missouri last Saturday.

The Rebels, with a 52-17 route at Vanderbilt, are back in the top 10 and looking dangerous with preseason All-American tailback Kewan Lacy over his shoulder injury and back in the lineup.

UCLA, under first-year coach Bob Chesney, should make the biggest jump in the poll after upsetting No. 13 Oregon in Eugene as a double-digit underdog, 17-15.

The previously No. 21-ranked Bruins have opened the season 5-0 for the first time since 2022, when Chip Kelly was their head coach.

Defending national champion Indiana came back from 10 down to beat Nebraska, setting up a top-10 showdown with Ohio State next Saturday.

Here’s how Mike Griffith plans to vote (late games pending) and thinks the AP Top 25 should look:

1. Georgia (6-0)

Won at Alabama, 20-17

2. Miami (5-0)

Was idle

3. Notre Dame (6-0)

Beat Stanford, 58-7

4. Alabama (5-1)

Lost to Georgia, 20-17

5. Ohio State (5-1)

Beat Maryland, 45-16

6. Indiana (6-0)

Won at Nebraska, 20-17

7. Texas (4-1)

Lost to Oklahoma, 27-24

8. UCLA (5-0)

Won at Oregon, 17-15

9. Ole Miss (4-1)

Won at Vanderbilt, 52-17

10. Utah (5-0)

Beat Kansas, 41-24

11. Texas Tech (5-0)

Was idle

12. Missouri (5-1)

Beat Texas A&M, 27-6

13. BYU (5-0)

Beat Iowa State, 24-10

14. Tennessee (5-1)

Won at Arkansas, 24-17

15. USC (6-1)

Won at Penn State, 31-23

16. Kentucky (4-1)

Beat LSU, 35-34 (OT)