IOWA CITY -- Georgia survived an upset scare from Kentucky with its undefeated record in tact.
The 13-12 win did not do enough, however, to convince me that the Bulldogs deserve the No. 1 spot on my AP ballot at this point in the season.
Kirby Smart's Georgia team was dangerously close to suffering an upset to Kentucky -- the same Kentucky team that lost by 25 points at home to South Carolina last week -- before Mark Stoops essentially punted away his shot at the upset.
It was a much less convincing win than Kirby Smart's past results against Kentucky. Georgia beat Kentucky by 38 in 2023, 10 in 2022 and 17 in 2021. That Will Levis-led 2022 Kentucky team was far more formidable than the 2024 group appears to be.
Texas, meanwhile, is 3-0 and has a 31-12 road win over the reigning national champion on its resume. I still give that win more weight than Georgia's 34-3 win over Clemson in Atlanta. Quarterback injuries can have a brutal impact -- Wisconsin was Exhibit A for that this week after Tyler Van Dyke's exit -- but the Longhorns did not miss a beat with Arch Manning at quarterback following Quinn Ewers' injury.
I am certainly not writing off Georgia's enviable national title chances with this week's ballot. We've seen Georgia win some not-so-pretty games before -- the 26-22 win at Missouri in 2022 quickly comes to mind -- and still go on to win a national championship. But Georgia lost the benefit of the doubt after eking past Kentucky.
Georgia will soon have an opportunity for redemption when it visits Alabama after this week's bye. A win in Tuscaloosa would firmly put the Bulldogs back at the No. 1 spot on my ballot.
The rest of my top five remains unchanged. Alabama's 42-10 win at Wisconsin was impressive, but it was not enough to one-up Ole Miss on my ballot. The Badgers are not the same team without Van Dyke, and Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart has looked like a Heisman front-runner through three games.
Farther down on my ballot, Kansas State jumped four spots after its definitive win over No. 20 Arizona. I have been less bullish on Arizona than most of my fellow voters over the last three weeks, and Friday's loss drops Arizona from my ballot.
Northern Illinois entered my ballot in place of Arizona after NIU's upset of then-No. 5 Notre Dame. I also gave Nebraska consideration for the No. 25 spot, but the Huskers' signature win is against Colorado, which is coming off a four-win season.
My full ballot is below. The Week 4 poll will be released at 1 p.m. Central time.
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