No. 23 in the AP

The AP poll, the granddaddy of them all, came out Saturday morning, and Georgia's distinction is the same as the coaches poll that came out several weeks before:

The lowest preseason rank since 2001, which was Mark Richt's first season as head coach.

The Bulldogs are ranked No. 23 in the AP, after coming in No. 21 in the coaches poll.

Alabama was the overwhelming No. 1, garnering 54 of 60 first-place votes. Florida came in at No. 4.

The rest of the top five was No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Boise State and No. 5 Texas.

Georgia Tech was No. 16.

Other SEC teams in the poll: No. 17 Arkansas, No. 21 LSU and No. 22 Auburn.

Georgia's preseason ranking in the AP the past decade, along with its final ranking:

2001: NR .... 22
2002: 8 ..... 3
2003: 11 .... 7
2004: 3 ..... 7
2005: 13 .... 10
2006: 15 .... 23
2007: 13 .... 2
2008: 1 ..... 13
2009: 13 .... NR
2010: 23 .... ?

Of course, while the AP is the oldest ranking still going, it also doesn't figure into the BCS formula anymore.

Coley Harvey, my colleague who covers Georgia Tech for The Telegraph, is an AP voter. He detailed his picks in a blog post, which is linked here.