Bulldogs climb onto the poll’s top rung
Tougher task, Smart says, is staying there
ATLANTA — Georgia finds itself in a most unusual position. No. 1. For the first time since the 1982 season, when a guy named Herschel Walker starred at running back, the Bulldogs hold the top spot in The Associated Press rankings during the season.
Now, the challenge is to stay there.
“It’s just a number, right?” coach Kirby Smart said Monday. “I don’t see a plateau. The goal is to be number one at the end of the season. You always know that.”
Led by a ferocious defense that has allowed just two touchdowns and 26 points, the Bulldogs (6-0, 4-0 Southeastern Conference) climbed to No. 1 after defending national champion Alabama was upset by Texas A&M.
The Bulldogs were a unanimous choice in the AP poll.
Georgia hasn’t been top dog since the 2008 preseason poll, a spot they surrendered even after winning their opening game.
One must go back nearly four decades to find the last time the Bulldogs were No. 1 during the season.
In 1982, Georgia moved to No. 1 in early November after a 44-0 win over Florida and held that spot for the final two games of the regular season, setting up a 1-2 showdown with Penn State in the Sugar Bowl.
The Nittany Lions prevailed 27-23 to claim the national championship.
Georgia hopes to finish the job that long-ago team failed to complete, though it’s a muchdifferent era. The regular season is now 12 games instead of 11. The SEC championship game provides another potential roadblock. And it takes two playoff victories to win a national championship.
“Everybody’s goal is there, but to have an opportunity to do that you have to be in the top four,” Smart told reporters.
INJURY REPORT: Top LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte, whose nine touchdown catches tie him for most in the nation, will miss the rest of the season, coach Ed Orgeron said Monday.
... Minnesota running back Trey Potts, second in the Big Ten with 110 yards per game, will miss the remainder of the season with an undisclosed injury serious enough to keep him hospitalized for six days after it occurred in the last game.
... Miami quarterback D’Eriq King needs surgery to repair his right shoulder and will miss the remainder of the season, a major blow to the reeling Hurricanes and their hopes of contending in the Atlantic Coast Conference. King was injured in the second half of Miami’s loss to Michigan State last month.
… Kentucky defensive tackle Octavious Oxendine will miss the rest of the season with a lower leg injury sustained in the No. 11 Wildcats’ 42-21 win over LSU. Coach Mark Stoops wasn’t more specific about Oxendine’s injury but called it a “big loss.”
… Arizona quarterback Jordan McCloud is out for the rest of the season after suffering right knee and ankle injuries against UCLA.
LOWE FUNERAL: Utah football player Aaron Lowe was remembered as an optimist, role model and friend at his funeral Monday, and coach Kyle Whittingham announced the school would retire Lowe’s number and establish a scholarship in his name.
Lowe’s coaches and teammates, Utah athletic staff and the university president traveled from Salt Lake City to attend the service in Lowe’s hometown of Mesquite, Texas, east of Dallas. Inside the casket, Lowe’s body was adorned in a white football uniform, including cleats, and a football was placed in his hands.
Lowe, 21, was fatally shot Sept. 26 in Salt Lake City, hours after a win over Washington State and nine months after Utes running back Ty Jordan died in an accidental shooting on Christmas night 2020.
Lowe and Jordan were friends and football teammates at West Mesquite High before they went to Utah. Lowe switched his jersey number to Jordan’s No. 22 this season and was the first recipient of a memorial scholarship established in Jordan’s honor.
“I loved Aaron Lowe just like everybody who came in contact with him,” Whittingham said. “He had a great heart, great smile. His personality, every time he went into a room, it lit up. He had that kind of charm and charisma. He approached life with clear eyes and a full heart.”