UGA football: Like most preseason polls, the 2020 Coaches Poll is useless

UGA football fans shouldn’t be too upset or hyped about the Bulldogs ranking in the 2020 Preseason Coaches Poll.

When you’re a part of or a fan of the UGA football program, you learn pretty quickly that most of the polls — particularly preseason polls — have little or no meaning. In 2020, that fact rings particularly true.

With the country in the middle of a global pandemic, players opting out, conferences coming up with their own schedules (all different), and nobody really sure when or if the season will finally begin, to even bother with a preseason poll seems like an exercise in futility.

But, it’s college football, and polls are a seemingly necessary evil. Even for the coaches (or their grad assistants).

Usually, you can at least look to a coaches poll with a little bit of confidence, but even in normal times, their preseason poll is just as flawed as everyone else’s. 2020’s first coaches poll is no exception.

Maybe it’s just time to do away with the polls altogether? Since the College Football Playoff Committee is supposed to give no weight to poll rankings, and since the polls are rendered useless once the first CFB Playoff ranking is released, why do we even bother?

Because people need to chat around the water cooler (or, perhaps on Zoom now) and because writers (like me) need something to moan about or thump their chests over.

UGA football fans are used to this nonsense.

So in this year’s grab-bag of preseason fun, the coaches have ranked Georgia No. 4, behind Clemson, Ohio State, and Alabama – and one spot ahead of defending national champion LSU.

Glass half full – that’s pretty decent company to keep.

Glass half empty – Ohio State?

Whatever. Geography be damned, maybe Georgia fans should join in with Michigan fans calling the Buckeyes “That School Down South” to see if they can get a rise out of THE Ohio State University head coach Ryan Day the way Jim Harbaugh did.

Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater Buckeyes! (Let’s see if that does it).

Bottom line, it’s all meaningless. The No. 4 ranking by the coaches. The No. 4 ranking by The Sporting News. Rankings from Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports, and eventually the first AP Poll of the season.

All. Useless.

In the words of Tony Soprano, “Nobody knows anything!”. Nobody knows who will be on the rosters. Nobody knows how the schedule will shake out. Nobody knows what players will decide to opt-out or will be forced to sit if they are infected with the coronavirus.

It’s all a big crap-shoot, so don’t worry about the rankings.

There’s one and only one time to be concerned if you’re a Georgia fan, and that’s the Bulldogs are losing in the 4th quarter to Georgia Tech and a loss will knock the Dawgs out of playoff contention.

Oh…guess that can’t happen this year. So, we’re all good.