Georgia cracks the Top 20 of the first AP Top 25 poll landing at No. 18. The Bulldogs are one of six SEC teams to make the poll. Alabama is the preseason No. 1 and is joined in the Top 10 by LSU at No. 5 and Tennessee at No. 9. Ole Miss checks in at No. 11 while Florida just sneaks onto the list at No. 25.

Georgia came in at No. 16 in the first edition of the Coaches Poll which was released earlier this month.

Here is a look at the full rankings:

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan
8. Stanford
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Ole Miss
12. Michigan State
13. TCU
14. Washington
15. Houston
16. UCLA
17. Iowa
18. Georgia
19. Louisville
20. USC
21. Oklahoma State
22. North Carolina
23. Baylor
24. Oregon
25. Florida

Did the AP voters get it right? Where do you think Georgia should be ranked?

Will Muschamp held a conference call with the media this afternoon to provide some updates on the team after Saturday’s scrimmage. Here’s some bits and pieces of interest:

—From a personal standpoint, I thought that we’d see a quarterback decision made by now, especially with a pair of scrimmages and several weeks of camp in the books. But it looks like Muschamp isn’t in any hurry to see a starter named. So much so, in fact, that he’s waiting until after the Vanderbilt game to name a starter. And it’s likely that both Perry Orth and Brandon McIlwain will go on Day 1.

Muschamp also added that neither Orth or McIlwain has distanced themselves enough to lead him to make a decision one way or the other. Of course, that’s judging off of practices. The real assessment will be made when these two go at it in game action in about twelve days. Whether the news that there’s been no clear favorite is good news or bad news depends on what side of the coin you’re looking at.

—A.J. Turner will still go with with the first team at running back, but the team will employ a “running back by committee” approach to get both Turner and David Williams out there. That said, I’d expect things to lean one way or the other based on the two men’s performance throughout the season.

—Linebacker Larenz Bryant is confirmed out for Vandy, and perhaps longer. RB Rico Dowdle, who was already out due to a groin injury, will indeed miss the Vandy game, along with Mon Denson. I think it could be a redshirt year for Dowdle he doesn’t get healthy soon – he was expected to figure into the running game in some form or fashion this season.

—Backfield looks to be set for September 1.

McWilliams is back from his leave of absence. Missing from the list: Chris Smith, who was slotted behind Lammons but might (my guess) redshirt with Montac in the fold. At safety, Chris Moody should be in the mix as well to spell Elder and Smith if needed.

—Alan Knott isn’t all the way back yet, but Muschamp said that he is “getting back to 100 percent”. Cory Helms should start at center if Knott can’t go.

Baylor will enter the season ranked 23rd in the A.P. poll. Baylor is ranked 21st in the coaches poll.

The Bears are among four Big 12 teams ranked in the poll. Oklahoma is 3rd, TCU is 13th and Oklahoma State is 21st. Houston also checks in at 15th. Alabama, as expected, is ranked #1.

Although preseason rankings do not matter as much anymore in the playoff era, it’s nice the Bears are ranked.

The Cardinals added another member to their 2018 class on Sunday afternoon as Zion Roland, a receiver from St. Petersburg (FL), decided to end his recruitment (for now) by pledging to Bobby Petrino and the Cards.

Roland is currently listed at 6’0” and 180 lbs. He currently isn’t ranked by 247 Sports, but he holds offers from Cincinnati and Indiana. The Crystal Ball prediction has him going to the Florida Gators at 100%, so we’ll see how this recruitment ends up.

Louisville currently has 5 commits in the 2018 class. All five of those commits come from the talent-rich state of Florida.

Previously…

Brace yourselves! Kansas State football is nearly here! We are just pre-teen numbers away from kickoff, as demonstrated by BracketCat’s countdown profiles of #13 wide receiver Steven West, another #13 in defensive back Ryan Mack, and #12 defensive back AJ Parker.

The 2016 Position Preview also ticks down to kickoff with JT VanGilder’s look at the offensive line.

Football

With Dante Barnett returning from a season lost to injury and Duke Shelley lighting it up, the secondary is looking strong this year. If transfers Cedric Dozier (Cal) and D.J. Reed (Cerritos College) can make significant contributions, this could be one of the best secondaries of the Snyder 2.0 era (Ken Corbitt, Topeka Capital-Journal).

Dozier, who used his time at Cal mostly to get his degree, is ready to focus more heavily on football. Meanwhile, Reed got to start opposite Shelley at a recent public scrimmage and sets high expectations for himself.

Others expected to contend for a spot in the secondary include junior Cre Moore, senior Jesse Mack, and junior college transfer Jordan Noil.

Speaking of defensive backs, Shelley made Max Olson’s list of the best cornerbacks in the Big 12 (ESPN).

Is 2016 the year of the quarterback in the Big 12? Nine teams in the conference return a starter at the position, although many, including Kansas State and Texas, will be looking to upgrade from 2015, and Jesse Ertz should be a step up in quality and effectiveness for the Wildcats (Chuck Carlton, Dallas Morning News).

The lone team not returning a starter at quarterback is TCU. But the Frogs may get Kenny Hill under center and probably won’t miss a beat.

You can add this to the latest set of pre-season power rankings we’ll mostly just ignore. Kansas State is bringing up the bottom, with only Iowa State and Kansas ranked lower. Yay Big 12 North! Then again, flying under the radar is just how Bill Snyder likes it (Brayden Conover, SportsBlog).

Basketball

The basketball team just returned from a tour of Europe. Their 10-day sojourn in Italy and Switzerland included actual basketball mixed in with sightseeing, an experience freshman Brian Patrick described as “once in a lifetime.”

From Bruce Weber’s perspective, the trip was a microcosm of an actual basketball season, including having to deal with adversity. The trip began with Delta’s now infamous systems glitch and a 40-hour chain of airports, hotels, and delays that undoubtedly led to the Wildcats losing the first game. But the team ultimately rebounded to win a couple of games and fought hard against a Kosovo national team loaded with veteran professionals, which presented a unique opportunity and challenge for the Wildcats.

Real practice begins in 43 days.

Track and Field

The Kansas State campaign at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio is over. The last Wildcat still in contention was Canada’s Alyx Treasure. She failed to clear the bar at 1.93m, the Olympic standard mark she’d reached earlier in Manhattan this year. She ultimately finished 17th in the standings, with Ruth Beitia of Spain having a monster leap of 1.97m to take gold.

Although no medals were won, this was a good Olympiad for current and former Wildcats. Confirming Kansas State’s stature as High Jump U, two Wildcats (Treasure and Erik Kynard, Jr) made the high jump finals. Hurdlers Balazs Baji and Jeffrey Julmis made the semifinals of the 110m event, and Akela Jones and Shadae Lawrence had top-25 finishes in the heptathlon and the discus throw.

Volleyball

The VolleyCats held their annual Purple-White scrimmage at Ahearn Field House last night, with Team White winning all four sets.

Team White featured Katie Brand with 46 assists, while teammate Bryna Vogel had 16 digs. Alyssa Schultejans played for both teams and totaled 13 digs, while Kylee Zumach, back from a knee injury and playing for Team Purple, had the only double-double of the night (15 digs, 13 kills).

The team travels to Honolulu, Hawaii next week for the season opener against Arizona on Friday at the Wahine Invitational.

The first edition of the AP Top 25 Poll for the 2016 season was released today and the Gators just made it onto the list at No. 25. The last two teams standing after the 2015 season enter 2016 as they ended it, with Alabama ranked No. 1 and Clemson ranked No. 2. Florida starts the 2016 season ranked where they ended the 2015 season as well, at No. 25. The Gators are also at No. 25 in the preseason coaches’ poll.

Last season Florida was unranked in the AP’s preseason poll. If the Gators had slotted in one place lower, and entered this season unranked, they would have been the first defending SEC East Champion to ever do so.

Florida has four foes ranked in the Top 20 on their schedule including Florida State at No. 4, LSU at No. 5, Tennessee at No. 9, and Georgia at No. 18; and only the Tigers make the trip to Gainesville.

Is No. 25 too low for the Gators? Is Florida being underrated after a ten win season and a trip to the SEC Championship? Are preseason rankings kind of irrelevant? Personally, I’d rather the Gators go into a season more on the underrated than the overrated side of things. Potentially having a little added motivation to prove themselves can’t be a bad thing.

The Associated Press released their first poll rankings for the 2016 college football season, and the Fighting Irish find themselves ranked in the top 10. Despite not technically naming a starter for the opener in Austin, Texas, on September 4th, Notre Dame still comes in at #10. Notre Dame will face 3 opponents that are currently ranked in the AP top 25; Stanford (8), MSU (12), and USC (20). However, as the season rolls on, that will certainly change.

Here’s the complete poll:

1		Alabama (33)SECRecord: 14-1	PV Rank -€” Points 1,469
2		Clemson (16)ACCRecord: 14-1	-€”1,443
3		Oklahoma (4)Big 12Record: 11-2	-€”1,352
4		Florida State (5)ACCRecord: 10-3	-€”1,325
5		LSU (1)SECRecord: 9-3	-€”1,269
6		Ohio State (1)Big TenRecord: 12-1	-€”1,224
7		Michigan (1)Big TenRecord: 10-3	-€”1,147
8		StanfordPac-12Record: 12-2	-€”1,029
9		TennesseeSECRecord: 9-4	-€”1,021
10		Notre DameDivision I FBS IndependentsRecord: 10-3	-€”1,006
11		MississippiSECRecord: 10-3	-€”718
12		Michigan StateBig TenRecord: 12-2	-€”710
13		TCUBig 12Record: 11-2	-€”707
14		WashingtonPac-12Record: 7-6	-€”651
15		HoustonThe AmericanRecord: 13-1	-€”644
16		UCLAPac-12Record: 8-5	-€”496
17		IowaBig TenRecord: 12-2	-€”484
18		GeorgiaSECRecord: 10-3	-€”448
19		LouisvilleACCRecord: 8-5	-€”447
20		USCPac-12Record: 8-6	-€”344
21		Oklahoma StateBig 12Record: 10-3	-€”316
22		North CarolinaACCRecord: 11-3	-€”283
23		BaylorBig 12Record: 10-3	-€”280
24		OregonPac-12Record: 9-4	-€”218
25		FloridaSECRecord: 10-4	-€”180

The WSU Cougars will begin the 2016 season just outside the top 25 of both major polls after debuting at 29th in the Associated Press preseason poll on Sunday.

The Cougs had earlier debuted at 30th in the Coaches Poll.

WSU received 68 points, placing them just behind Utah and ahead of the Cougs’ week two opponent, Boise State. The Broncos were a spot ahead of WSU in the Coaches Poll.

Five Pac-12 teams are ranked in the top 25, led by Stanford at No. 8 and followed by Washington (14), UCLA (16), USC (20), and Oregon (24). With the exception of the Trojans, all of those teams are on WSU’s schedule, but only the game against the Cardinal is away from Martin Stadium.

Should the Cougars have a strong showing in the opener against Eastern Washington, there’s a bit of a chance they could sneak into the top 25 for that critical non-conference game in Boise — the loser of No. 22 UNC vs. No. 18 Georgia could drop out, as could USC with a season-opening loss to Alabama. And there’s usually a surprise, along the lines of No. 15 Arizona State dropping out after getting blasted by unranked Texas A&M last season.

Here’s the full top 25 (first place votes in parentheses):

Others receiving votes: Miami 159, Texas A&M 81, Utah 74, Washington State 68, Boise State 49, San Diego State 46, Wisconsin 42, Auburn 22, Pittsburgh 15, Arkansas 14, Texas 12, Nebraska 11, Navy 8, Northwestern 5, Western Kentucky 4, South Florida 2, Toledo 2.