Georgia unsurprisingly tops preseason poll
It was no surprise Georgia earned the No. 1 in the preseason Coaches Poll released Monday. Expect the same this coming Monday when The Associated Press poll is released.
Being back-to-back national champs warrants that respect.
The Coaches Poll top 10 was No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Ohio State, No. 5 LSU, No. 6 Southern Cal, No. 7 Penn State, No. 8 Florida State, No. 9 Clemson and No. 10 Tennessee.
The polls will vary but expect them to be very similar.
The SEC had six teams ranked with the other two being No. 22 Ole Miss and No. 25 Texas A&M.
Arkansas will have to earn its way into the polls, but the mild surprises were Alabama at No. 3 and Texas A&M at No. 25.
The Crimson Tide opened the last two seasons at No. 1, and have done so five of the previous seven seasons.
Alabama has opened in the top 5 since Nick Saban’s third season with the Tide.
In Alabama No. 5 is a disappointment, but success does spoil fans.
The big question surrounding Alabama seems to be is who will replace quarterback Bryce Young, the No. 1 pick in the last NFL Draft.
However, Saban always seems to have another All-American in the waiting room.
Just for the record, the last time Alabama started No. 5 it went 14-0 and won Saban’s first of six national championships at Alabama.
Georgia received 61 of the 66 first place votes with Alabama second with four and Ohio State with one.
The Razorbacks will have a chance to earn some ranking points as they play four teams in the preseason top 25.
The shocker in the first poll should have been Texas A&M barely made it and received only 196 total points. That’s 29 less than No. 23 Tulane who has clawed out some national respect recently, but no one is going to confuse the football budget of the Aggies with the Green Wave.
In the last five seasons Jimbo Fisher has recruited classes ranked No. 4, 6, 8, 1 and 15 in the nation. However, the Aggies are 11-12 the last two seasons.
Once labeled a quarterback whisperer, Fisher has struggled to get consistent play from that position since coming to A&M, which was one of the reasons he felt compelled to hire a true offensive coordinator, which he did with Bobby Petrino who will only struggle this season at not being the boss and how much freedom will he have.
If all the teenagers in last week’s Junior PGA Championship at Hot Springs Country Club had lined up before the tournament and you got to pick one you thought might win, choosing the eventual girls champ Gianna Clemente would have been easy, but for the boys it wouldn’t have been.
Miles Russell weighs maybe a buck 20. He just finished the eighth grade and most of the guys towered over him, except on the course.
The 14-year-old from Jacksonville Beach, Fla., shot three 67s and a 65 for an 18-under 266 to win by 11 strokes. Jackson Byrd finished second. He’s the son of PGA regular Jonathan Byrd who was the 2002 Rookie of the Year and has won five tournaments.
Clemente finished at 9-under 275, beating Yana Wilson, Kylie Chong and Kinsley Ni by three shots. Last year, Wilson beat Clemente in the U.S. Girls’ Junior final.
The wins earned Clemente and Russell spots on the Junior Ryder Cup team next month in Rome, Italy. Also earning spots were Byrd on the boys side and Chong on the girls side.
Those who follow junior golf may have picked Russell despite his size disadvantage — he has won seven junior titles. Several observers called him a natural golfer who drives long and straight.