Georgia’s goal is to be No. 1 when it matters most
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.
Georgia hopes to finish the job that long-ago team failed to complete, though its a much-different 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 at his weekly news conference. “That’s the most critical part. We won’t get caught up in that, let you guys write about it. That’s not a burden we carry. The burden we carry is how we play.”
Arizona quarterback Jordan McCloud is out for the rest of the season after suffering right knee and ankle injuries against UCLA.
Wildcats coach Jedd Fisch said Monday McCloud is expected to have surgery this week.
McCloud was injured in the fourth quarter of Arizona’s 34-16 loss to UCLA Saturday night when his leg got twisted up while he was getting sacked.
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 at Family Cathedral of Praise in Lowe’s hometown 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.