A 55-0 win to start the season wasn’t enough for Alabama to keep the top spot in ESPN’s rankings.
Released late Monday night, ESPN moved the Crimson Tide from first to second among its top-25 schools. A familiar foe in Georgia unseated them for No. 1 positioning.
Mark Schlabach praised Bulldogs quarterback Stetson Bennett after shredding Oregon in Week 1’s 49-3 blowout win.
“Bennett is emerging as one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC, if not the entire FBS,” Schlabach wrote. “He completed 25 of 31 passes for a career-high 368 yards with two touchdowns in a 49-3 win against Oregon. He also ran for another score. His mobility has always been underappreciated, and he’s proving that his accuracy and arm strength aren’t bad, either.”
Bennett had never reached 300 passing yards in a game since collecting 340 during Georgia’s SEC Championship Game loss to Alabama. He has now exceeded that benchmark in three of his last four contests after setting a new personal high last Saturday.
Buoyed by a prolific defense, the Bulldogs will be supremely difficult to stop if Bennett takes another leap forward in his senior season.
Alabama did nothing to lose the No. 1 designation, so we might not truly know which team is better unless they meet again for the SEC and/or national title.