AP Top 25 voter puts Michigan ahead of Georgia in preseason college football rankings
College football rankings aren't an exact science, and wherever a top 25 poll is put together, there are always some arguments to be had.
That appears to be the case with the preseason rankings for 2022, at least regarding how one voter positioned Michigan and Georgia in the first poll.
Jonas Pope of the Raleigh News and Observer ranked defending Big Ten champion Michigan as the No. 4 team in the nation, ahead of College Football Playoff national champion Georgia, which he placed at No. 5.
That certainly was an outlier among the top 25 voters, all of whom, save four others, ranked Georgia among their top three entering the 2022 season.
And the decision looks all the more unconventional when considering the result the last time Michigan and Georgia met on the same field.
That was last December, when the Bulldogs routed the Wolverines, 34-11, in the Orange Bowl CFP semifinal en route to the national title game.
The game was yet another occasion when a seemingly dominant Big Ten squad was dramatically humbled by an SEC team on a national stage.
Michigan scored just three points through the first three quarters of that game, compared to Georgia's 27 after the Bulldogs opened an easy 14-0 lead.
Michigan ahead of Georgia? Yes, according to one AP Top 25 voter
Michigan featured a roster heavy on star power a year ago, especially on the defensive line and in the backfield, but loses a lot of that talent coming into this season.
Both top edge rushers — Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo — departed for the NFL, as did top defensive back Daxton Hill and lead rusher Hassan Haskins.
And while the Wolverines still retain enough talent, especially at the skill positions — quarterbacks Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy, receivers Andrel Anthony and Ronnie Bell, and backs Blake Corum and Donovan Edwards — it's tough to see how it looks better than Georgia's.
The Bulldogs also lost a ton of talent this offseason — a modern NFL Draft record 15 selections last spring — especially from its historic defense, but has gained a recruiting edge in the Southeast that ensures quality control among the replacements.
And puts Georgia squarely in the race to get back to the College Football Playoff and make a run at the national championship again.
Something Michigan will have a harder time doing — Georgia has 17/4 odds to repeat as champions, according to Caesars Sportsbook; the Wolverines come in at 50/1.