Here is how Georgia has fared overall (and in the AP) for the last two decades:
1997
Following a 5-6 season in 1996, the Bulldogs — coached by Jim Donnan — entered the AP rankings at No. 25 in Week 3 and raced to as high as No. 7 after a dominant 37-17 over No. 6 Florida in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs finished the season 10-2 with a win over Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl.
1998
The Bulldogs opened the season at No. 19 in the AP poll. They rose as high as No. 7, following a 28-27 nail-bitter in Week 4 over LSU. Losses to Tennessee (4), Florida (6) and Georgia Tech (17) dropped Georgia back to 19, before a 35-33 upset of Virginia in Atlanta's Peach Bowl put the Bulldogs at No. 14 in the final AP poll.
1999
After a 4-0 start behind quarterback Quincy Carter (17), the Bulldogs re-entered the AP Top 10. Georgia, however, finished the season 8-4 and ranked 16th in the final AP poll.
2000
The Bulldogs were ranked at No. 10 in the AP's preseason poll. An early season loss to South Carolina dropped Georgia more than a dozen spots to No. 24. The team recovered with an 8-4 finish and a No. 20 spot in the final AP poll.
2001
Mark Richt’s first year as Georgia’s head coach saw the unranked Bulldogs jump in and out of the Top 25. Georgia secured a Week 4 win over 6th-ranked Tennessee to claim the No. 19 spot in the ranking and rose as high as No. 15 before losing to Florida, 24-10. The Bulldogs (8-4) ranked at No. 22 in the final AP poll.
Credit: JOHN BAZEMORE
Credit: JOHN BAZEMORE
2002
The Bulldogs opened the AP preseason poll at No. 8. Georgia and sailed to a No. 5 ranking before suffering a 20-13 loss to unranked Florida in Jacksonville (their only loss that season). The Bulldogs claimed the SEC title and defeated Florida State, 26-13, in the Sugar Bowl, ending at No. 3 in the final AP poll.
2003
A preseason No. 11 team, Georgia jumped as high as the No. 4 spot before a 17-10 loss to No. 11 LSU in Week 4. The (5) Bulldogs met (3) LSU again in a Top 5 matchup at the SEC Championship Game (another loss) in Atlanta. A win over Purdue in the Capital One Bowl placed Georgia at No. 7 in the final AP poll.
2004
The Bulldogs opened the season ranked No. 3 and stayed there until a 19-14 loss to No. 17 Tennessee at home. The Bulldogs, who finished 10-2, rose to No. 7 in the final AP poll.
2005
The Bulldogs opened the season ranked at No. 13 and rose to No. 4 after seven-straight wins. Their undefeated efforts were derailed by back-to-back losses to the 16th-ranked Florida Gators and 15th ranked Auburn Tigers. The Bulldogs still managed to reach and win the SEC Championship Game, 34-14, over LSU for another appearance in the Sugar Bowl, where the 8th-ranked Bulldogs lost to West Virginia and finished at No. 10 in the final AP poll.
2006
The Bulldogs opened the season at the No. 15 spot in the AP poll and moved as high as No. 9 before losses to Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Florida and Kentucky dropped them out of the AP poll. A 31-24 win over Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl put Georgia at No. 23 in the final AP poll.
2007
It was topsy-turvy year for Georgia. The Bulldogs opened the season at No 13 and moved up and down the poll holding the No. 23, 15, 12, 24, 10, and 4 spots. The Bulldogs finished 11-2, scoring signature wins over (16) Alabama, (9) Florida, (18) Auburn and (22) Kentucky, for a final ranking at No. 2 in the AP poll.
2008
Georgia opened as the No. 1 team in the AP’s preseason poll. It went downhill from there. The Bulldogs had four-straight wins before falling to No. 8 Alabama. Georgia had two more losses — (5) Florida and (18) Georgia Tech — before finishing with a 24-12 win over Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl. They were No. 13 in the final AP poll.
2009
The AP preseason poll placed Georgia in the same spot it finished the previous season at No. 13. It would be their highest spot in the poll that season. Following losses to (9) Oklahoma State and (4) LSU, the Bulldogs were banished from the AP Top 25 for the rest of the season.
2010
After missing seven weeks in the AP poll the previous year, Mark Richt’s Bulldogs started with hope. Georgia opened ranked 23rd in the AP preseason poll. A loss in Week 2 to South Carolina dumped Georgia out of the poll, marking Richt’s worst season (6-7) in Athens.
2011
In Aaron Murray's sophomore season, Georgia started at the 19th spot in the AP Poll. After season-opening losses to No. 5 Boise State in Atlanta and South Carolina, the Bulldogs fell out of the Top 25. The team would recover, pulling off nine-straight wins for a No. 12 ranking in the AP poll and a trip to the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs suffered losses in the SEC title game and Outback Bowl for a No. 19 finish in the final AP poll.
Credit: Brant Sanderlin / AJC
Credit: Brant Sanderlin / AJC
2012
Georgia opened at No. 6 in the preseason AP poll. A loss to (6) South Carolina in Week 6 dropped the Bulldogs to No. 13. Six-straight wins put Georgia at No. 3 for a matchup against No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship Game (they did not win). The Bulldogs finished at No. 5 in the final AP poll, a position they held for 5 weeks during the season.
2013
The Bulldogs were ranked as high as No. 5, but with losses to (8) Clemson, (25) Missouri, Vanderbilt, (7) Auburn and Nebraska (in the Gator Bowl) they dropped out of the final AP Top 25 poll.
2014
A season-opening win over (16) Clemson pushed the No. 12 Bulldogs to their highest spot in the AP poll (No. 6) that season. After a 10-3 campaign that ended with a 37-14 win over (20) Louisville in the Belk Bowl, Georgia landed in the No. 9 spot in the final AP poll.
2015
Georgia began Mark Richt's final season in Athens at the No. 9 spot in the AP preseason poll. Back-to-back October losses to (13) Alabama and Tennessee dropped the Bulldogs from the AP rankings through the final poll.
2016
Kirby Smart’s first season as the Bulldogs’ head coach began at the No. 18 spot in the AP’s preseason poll. A season opening win over (22) North Carolina pushed Georgia into the Top 10 (No. 9). Georgia fell completely out of the Top 25 following back-to-back losses to (23) Ole Miss and (11) Tennessee.
Credit: Sean M. Haffey
Credit: Sean M. Haffey
2017
The Bulldogs opened the season at the No. 15 spot on AP's preseason poll. Seven straight wins — marked by victories over (24) Notre Dame, (17) Mississippi State, Tennessee and Missouri — leaped-frogged Georgia to the No. 4 spot in the AP poll ahead of their annual rivalry match against Florida. A November loss to Auburn almost sidelined the Bulldogs who still managed to reach the SEC title game to avenge the loss to the Tigers. The SEC title win propelled them into the College Football Playoffs where they scored a win over Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and a disappointing loss to Alabama in the national title game. The team finished the season ranked No. 2.
2018
The Georgia Bulldogs enjoyed their highest ranking in the AP poll in five seasons., debuting at No. 3 to start the season. The team spent four weeks at No. 2 after a loss to LSU in Week 7. The team scored victories over Florida (9), Kentucky (11) and Georgia Tech to enter the SEC Championship against Alabama ranked No. 4. Losses to the Crimson Tide and No. 14 Texas in the Sugar Bowl dropped the Bulldogs to No. 7 in the final poll.
2019
Georgia began the season ranked No. 3. The Bulldogs finished 12-2 and an SEC East title. The Bulldogs' only losses came to 4-8 South Carolina in Week 6 (which dropped them to No. 10) and to 15-0 LSU in the SEC Championship Game. Georgia ended the season outside the College Football Playoffs, with a Sugar Bowl win over Baylor. Their final No. 4 ranking was their best since 2017.
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