'It's never a big deal'. Georgia football unfazed by latest spot atop AP rankings

Georgia football's No. 1 ranking in this week's AP poll was met Monday with indifference by UGA players and coach Kirby Smart.

The Bulldogs, who began the season No. 3, received 53 of 63 first-place votes following Saturday's 33-0 win over Samford while previously top-ranked Alabama struggled in a 20-19 win over Texas. They remained behind Alabama in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll, but picked up 19 more first-place votes than the week prior.

"That's something that changes every week," said center Sedrick Van Pran. "One week we may be number one and then it changes again next week. I think, for us, is just that we uphold the Georgia standard and make sure that we need to win games. I think that's the bottom line. I don't really want to get caught up in the whole number one ranking, because at the end of the day it really doesn't matter."

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The Bulldogs have been ranked in one of the top two positions in 16 of the past 18 AP polls and were third in the other two. Last season, the Bulldogs assumed the top spot in the seventh week of the season and didn't relinquish the position until falling to Alabama in the SEC championship game.

They began this season ranked No. 3 behind Alabama and Ohio State, respectively.

"It's never a big deal," Smart said at Monday's press conference. "It only matters at the end of the year. I don't know that we've spent many weeks outside the top 10, but it never mattered whether we were inside the top 10 or outside the top 10. It's irrelevant."

Smart said on Monday that he was optimistic that Adonai Mitchell could play in Saturday's noon kickoff at South Carolina, but the sophomore wide receiver would not practice on Monday because of a left ankle injury suffered against Samford.

Smart added that receiver Arian Smith, who had surgery in the offseason for a high ankle sprain, was recovering and looking healthier, but a timetable has not been set for his return.

So far this season, Georgia has been impressive in its wins. It leads the SEC, and is 10th nationally, in total offense (525 yards per game) while leading the country in scoring defense (1.5 points per game).

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But with at least 10 games remaining in the regular season and a bowl game or two more, Bulldogs say their current ranking isn't important.

"I feel like to be a top team, we're not really worried about a ranking," said linebacker Smael Mondon. "I feel like we're just going and playing our standard. If we play to our standard it will unfold like it's supposed to."

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: What Georgia football coach Kirby Smart said about AP No. 1 Ranking