Mark Richt ranked his Georgia football team 18th in the final USA Today coaches’ poll of the regular season.
That’s exactly where the Bulldogs landed in the rankings.
Guess who put Georgia way up higher? Vanderbilt’s James Franklin.
That postgame confrontation with Bulldogs defensive coordinator Todd Grantham after Georgia’s win in Nashville this season didn’t drop the Bulldogs on his ballot. Franklin had Georgia No. 10.
Only two coaches put Georgia higher: N.C.State’s Tom O’Brien at No. 7 and San Jose State’s Mike MacIntyre at No. 9.
Brigham Young’s Bronco Mendenhall was the only coach not to rank Georgia on his top 25 ballot.
LSU coach Les Miles ranked Georgia 10th. Alabama’s Nick Saban put the Bulldogs 19th. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier had them 13th.
Boise State coach Chris Petersen, whose team beat Georgia to open the season, ranked the Broncos fifth and had Georgia 14th.
Richt put Boise State No. 5 on his ballot. He had LSU-Alabama one and two.
Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio has Georgia 16th. Richt put Michigan State 11th.
Georgia and Michigan State play in the Outback Bowl Jan. 2 in Tampa.
Here’s Mark Richt’s top 25 ballot:
1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Oklahoma State
4. Stanford
5. Boise State
6. Arkansas
7. South Carolina
8. Oregon
9. Wisconsin
10. Kansas State
11. Michigan State
12. Michigan
13. TCU
14. Baylor
15. Clemson
16. Virginia Tech
17. Houston
18. Georgia
19. Oklahoma
20. Nebraska
21. Penn State
22. West Virginia
23. Cincinnati
24. Southern Miss
25. Florida State
–Please follow me at Twitter.com/marcweiszer
