Rece Davis places Georgia below two SEC teams in Week 1 rankings

ESPN College GameDay analyst Rece Davis submitted his Week 1 Top 25 ballot into the AP Poll, and he had a surprising team at No. 1: the LSU Tigers. As for the Georgia Bulldogs, Davis ranked the red and black at No. 8 in his ballot.

His decision to put the LSU Tigers at No. 1 was probably somewhat inspired by his former College GameDay colleague Lee Corso, who picked LSU to win the national championship. So far, Corso’s pick looks genius, with LSU finally snapping their 5-year opening game losing streak with a road win over the Clemson Tigers, who were considered by many as favorites for the 2026 national championship.

As for the Georgia Bulldogs, Davis keeps them at No. 8, below three teams with a regular season loss (Texas, Clemson, Notre Dame). The Bulldogs showed dominant form against the Marshall Thundering Herd, winning 45-7 with a blend of QB running game, Zachariah Branch, and shutdown defense. However, Davis still believes Georgia is the 3rd best team in the SEC, behind Texas and LSU.

Georgia does leapfrog Alabama in a big way. After the Crimson Tide fell to the Florida State Seminoles 31-17, they slid completely out of his top 25.

In Rece Davis’ top ten, he features more Big Ten teams (four) than SEC teams (three). Outside of that, he ranked two ACC teams (Miami, Clemson) and Notre Dame in his top ten.

Rece Davis’ Week 2 top 25 ballot:

LSU TigersOhio State BuckeyesMiami HurricanesPenn State Nittany LionsClemson TigersTexas LonghornsNotre Dame Fighting IrishGeorgia BulldogsOregon DucksIllinois Fighting IlliniArizona State Sun DevilsSMU MustangsFlorida GatorsIowa State CyclonesTexas Tech Red RaidersOklahoma SoonersIndiana HoosiersMichigan WolverinesFlorida State SeminolesTexas A&M AggiesSouth Carolina GamecocksTCU BullfrogsSouth Florida BullsTennessee VolunteersAuburn Tigers