The University of Georgia Bulldogs were named No. 1 by The Associated Press in its preseason top 25 college football poll.
Of a possible 63 first-place votes, UGA received 60 in the poll that was released Monday, the AP reported.
Michigan came in second, with Ohio State No. 3, Alabama No. 4 and LSU No.5.
Georgia is going for its third national title in a row — something no other team has done during the AP poll era, which dates to 1936.
(Minnesota was the AP national champion when the honor was first given in 1936, according to AP. The team was awarded two national championships retroactively for 1935 and 1934 by some sports organizations, but it was not recognized as a three-peat AP champion.)
“We have not addressed that with them,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said during SEC media days about chasing college football history.
“We’ve certainly looked at some three-peat scenarios of teams like the Bulls and different sports teams that they might actually know about. No offense to the Minnesota 1935 team, but I don’t know if it’s going to resonate with my audience.”
Rounding out the top 10 is Southern California at No. 6, followed by Penn State, Florida State, Clemson and Washington.
Heading into this season, here is the breakdown by conference of teams in the Top 25:
- SEC — 6 (Nos. 1, 4, 5, 12, 22, 23).
- Big Ten — 5 (Nos. 2, 3, 7, 19, 25).
- Pac-12 — 5 (Nos. 6, 10, 14, 15, 18).
- Big 12 — 4 (Nos. 11, 16, 17, 20).
- ACC — 3 (Nos. 8, 9, 21).
- American Athletic — 1 (No. 24).
- Independent — 1 (No. 13).
Here is the top 25 list:
1. Georgia
2. Michigan
3. Ohio State
4. Alabama
5. LSU
6. USC
7. Penn. State
8. Florida State
9. Clemson
10. Washington
11. Texas
12. Tennessee
13. Notre Dame
14. Utah
15. Oregon
16. Kansas State
17. TCU
18. Oregon State
19. Wisconsin
20. Oklahoma
21. North Carolina
22. Ole Miss
23. Texas A&M
24. Tulane
25. Iowa
