UGA ranked No. 4 in preseason coaches’ poll

No. 1 Alabama received 61 out of 65 first-place votes; Clemson is No. 2.

ATHENS —The defending SEC Champion Georgia Bulldogs will open the season No. 4 in the coaches’ poll, according to the preseason rankings released Thursday.

The Bulldogs finished last sea-

son No. 2 after a 26-23 overtime loss to Alabama in the College Football Playoff Championship game in January.

The No. 4 ranking represents the highest in the coaches’ poll since the Bulldogs opened the 2008 campaign ranked No. 1 en route to a 10-3 season and a No. 10 final ranking.

Last season’s Georgia football team opened the season No. 15 and rose only as high as No. 2 in the AP Top 25 and coaches’ poll despite spending two weeks ranked at No. 1 by the College Football Playoff committee.

Alabama was voted the No. 1 team in the preseason coaches’ poll, garnering the top vote from 61 of the 65 coaches.

The Crimson Tide are replacing their offensive and defen- sive coordinators from a season ago and have a quarterback controversy on their hands, so the No. 1 vote shows how much respect other coaches have for Nick Saban.

Clemson is No. 2, Ohio State is No. 3 followed by Georgia and No. 5 Oklahoma.

Auburn is No. 10, Mississippi State No. 18 and LSU No. 24.

South Carolina and Florida were first and second among others receiving votes. Texas A&M and Kentucky also received votes.