ATHENS, Ga. — The Georgia Bulldogs are back on top of college football. Georgia claimed the No. 1 spot in the weekly media Top 25 poll released Sunday, one day after outlasting Alabama 20-17 in an SEC showdown.
Voters left little doubt. The Bulldogs collected 66 of 70 first-place votes, and it is the first time Georgia has led the poll since the 2024 season.
The win at Alabama answered questions about a soft early schedule. Georgia had opened SEC play against the three lowest-rated offenses in the league, so the Crimson Tide were the first real test for the defense. The Bulldogs are now 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the SEC.
The new poll also reshapes the playoff picture. Based on that poll, Georgia replaces Texas as the projected top seed in the 12-team College Football Playoff, which would come with a first-round bye. The Longhorns slid after losing to unranked Oklahoma, which knocked them out of a top-four seed.
If the season ended now, Georgia would wait for the winner of a first-round game between No. 9 seed Mississippi and No. 8 seed BYU. First-round games are Dec. 18 and 19, the quarterfinals are Dec. 30 and Jan. 1, the semifinals are Jan. 14 and 15, and the title game is Jan. 25 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
The projected bracket would hold four SEC teams, one fewer than last week, after LSU dropped out following its loss to Kentucky.
Plenty can change before the selection committee releases its first rankings on Nov. 3. The SEC has nine ranked teams this week, more than any other conference, and Kentucky jumped from unranked to No. 15.
Georgia stays in conference play next with a home game against Auburn.