The polls---well, the consequential ones, at any rate---are out and the news is mixed. Let’s start with the bad news.
There was (relatively) little love for the ‘Dawgs in this week’s BlogPoll, where No. 2 Georgia garnered just ten of 75 first-place votes and trailed No. 1 Southern California by an undeservedly large margin. The Trojans occupied the top spot on 44 ballots, presumably because they looked so good while idle, particularly in light of Virginia’s less than stellar performance on Saturday. I get why everyone is going to rank U.S.C. No. 1 next week; I don’t get it this week.
Also among those receiving first-place votes are No. 3 Oklahoma (9), No. 4 Florida (8), No. 6 Ohio State, and No. 10 East Carolina (3). Strangely, No. 7 Louisiana State did not receive the same boost Southern California received from an open date, perhaps because U.S.C.’s bye week was planned and L.S.U.’s was inadvertent. Yeah, I just don’t get that.
The good news, however, is that the latest S.E.C. Power Poll has the Bulldogs back on top with 18 first-place votes to the second-ranked Gators’ five. The total point gap between the two, however, is small, as Georgia pulled down 290 points and Florida claimed 279.
Go ‘Dawgs!