The Georgia Bulldogs open the 2026 season ranked No. 3 in the preseason Coaches Poll. UGA, coming off a 12–2 campaign and an SEC Championship, earned seven first-place votes and totaled 1,591 points.
Georgia will face four teams ranked in the preseason Top 25: No. 9 Oklahoma, No. 10 Ole Miss, No. 11 Alabama, and No. 25 Missouri.
The SEC leads all conferences with nine teams in the Top 25, followed by the Big Ten with eight ranked programs.
The complete 2026 preseason Coaches Poll is listed below (first place votes in parentheses):
1. Ohio State (38)
2. Oregon (6)
3. Georgia (7)
4. Texas (2)
5. Notre Dame (5)
6. Indiana (14)
7. Miami
8. Texas A&M
9. Oklahoma
10. Ole Miss
11. Alabama
12. Texas Tech
13. LSU
14. USC
15. BYU
16. Michigan
17. Penn State
18. Tennessee
19. Washington
20. SMU
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Clemson
24. Houston
25. Missouri
Others receiving votes: Louisville 153, Florida 147, TCU 63, Illinois 62, South Carolina 50, Arizona 50, Virginia 40, Vanderbilt 37, Auburn 29, Georgia Tech 26, Boise State 24, Oklahoma State 22, UNLV 17, North Carolina State 13, Florida State 13, Virginia Tech 12, Nebraska 12, Memphis 9, Arizona State 8, James Madison 6, Duke 6, Pittsburgh 4, New Mexico 4, Western Michigan 3, Navy 3, San Diego State 2, Kansas State 1, Jacksonville State 1, Hawaii 1, California 1.
The Georgia Bulldogs are scheduled to open the 2026 season on Saturday, September 5 against the Tennessee State Tigers at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. The game will kickoff at 3:00pm ET and will be a streaming-only event on SEC Network+.