Before Saturday, college football’s Super Six had been established as Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma and Georgia. Those six teams had held the first six spots in the rankings in some order since the preseason.
Never before had the top six been so stagnant so deep into a season.
Then Georgia was upset by South Carolina. The then-third-ranked Bulldogs took a fall to No. 10, behind a Notre Dame team (8) they'd defeated just two weeks before.
This isn’t the first time the Gamecocks have managed to put a crater on the Bulldogs’ season.
Twice since 2012 the Bulldogs entered the game against South Carolina ranked in the Top 5, only to be hooked out of the position by a Gamecocks win. Here’s a recent look back at how the Bulldogs finished out after a midseason upset loss:
2018
• AP No. 2 → No. 13 → No. 7 - The Bulldogs started the year 6-0 for a second straight year under Kirby Smart. A 36-16 loss in Week 7 at 13th-ranked LSU dropped to Bulldogs to 8th. Five straight wins moved Georgia to No. 4 and landed the Bulldogs in the SEC title game, where they lost to top-ranked Alabama. Georgia finished ranked 7th after a disappointing Sugar Bowl appearance.
2016
• AP No. 12 → No. 25 → NR - After three straight wins over No. 22 North Carolina, Nicholls State and Missouri, Georgia ran into wall against Ole Miss and Tennessee. The 3-2 start forced the Bulldogs out of the top 25 and Georgia finished its first season under Kirby Smart 8-5 and way outside the rankings.
2015
• AP No. 8 → No. 19 → NR - The Bulldogs followed a Week 5 loss to 13th-ranked Alabama in Athens with an equally devastating loss to Tennessee at Knoxville. Georgia had fallen entirely out of the rankings when it stumbled again in Jacksonville two weeks later. The Bulldogs ended the year 10-3 and unranked.
2014
• AP No. 6 → No. 13 → No. 9 - Coming off a huge opening season win against 16th-ranked Clemson, the Bulldogs were stunned at Columbia. The team dropped seven spots in the poll, but recovered despite losses to Florida and Georgia Tech to finish ranked 9th following a Belk Bowl win over Louisville.
2013
• AP No. 7 → No. 15 → NR - On a three-game win streak against the SEC's South Carolina, LSU and Tennessee, the Bulldogs dropped eight spots after a Week 6 upset in Athens by Missouri. Losses to Vanderbilt, Florida and Auburn had the Bulldogs looking from outside the top 25.
2012
• AP No. 5 → No. 14 → No. 5 - The Bulldogs entered the sixth game of the season ranked 5th. They dropped to 14th after a 35-7 loss to 6th-ranked South Carolina. The Bulldogs rallied with six-straight wins over Kentucky, Florida, Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia Southern and Georgia Tech to reach the SEC Championship in Atlanta ranked third. The Bulldogs followed a loss an SEC loss to Alabama with a win over Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl to finish the year back at No. 5.
But if you're still concerned over the state of the Bulldogs, keep in mind Georgia has never made it to the SEC Championship Game as an undefeated team.
