Tournament of Roses president Lance Tibbet (second from left) presents Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart (right) with the Leishman Trophy as CFP executive director Bill Hancock (left) and ESPN broadcaster Rece Davis (second from right) watch after the 2018 Rose Bowl college football playoff semifinal game against the Oklahoma Sooners at Rose Bowl Stadium. Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
By Sean Keeley on

ESPN’s College GameDay is almost certainly going to end up in Athens, Georgia at some point this season. When they get there, host Rece Davis might have some explaining to do.

Davis made waves earlier this week when it was revealed that he was one of only three AP Poll voters not to have the back-to-back defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs at No. 1.

In a video breaking down his preseason top ten, the College GameDay host said that the reason he couldn’t put the Bulldogs atop the list was because of concerns around the quarterback position.

“Quarterback and it’s not that they don’t have talented guys, Carson Beck likely the starter,” Davis said. “I was told by someone close to the Georgia program just a couple of days ago that Brock Vandagriff has been really terrific in fall camp. So they’ve got a couple of talented options but they’re unproven.

“While I don’t have them ranked No. 1 to start as the preseason poll — I have Michigan on top — it’s not unreasonable to think that Georgia is just going to reload. And the schedule suggests that they really only have two games that they can even find a way to give away over the course of the regular season.”

Since then, Davis has been hearing about it from Georgia fans and SEC fans alike. And he finally took the bait on Wednesday, tweeting (or whatever we’re calling it now) a defense of his decision.

“I’ve said that the [QB] is unproven. That’s a simple fact,” wrote Davis. “I’ve also said if he plays well early, no matter the subpar competition, I’ll likely move them to number one. I have no idea why I respond to any of this. But I’m on a plane. Caught me at a weak moment. And thanks!”

Naturally, this just invited more Georgia fans into his mentions and Rece continued to tweet/post through it.

“Can’t wait to (a) see how mad Kirby is-(b) how thankful he is – or (c) how little he cares-that I have the Dogs #2 to start—when we chat on the [College GameDay] pod. Coming in the not too distant future…Btw, I’m betting on C,” said Davis. 

We’re gonna have to disagree with Davis on that assessment, given that Kirby Smart literally played the “everyone doubted us” card last season despite Georgia being the No. 1 team in the nation for the entire season. the Bulldogs went full “nobody believed in us” in order to motibate themselves to a second national title in two years and there’s absolutely no reason to think Davis’s comments aren’t already laminated and posted on a locker room wall right now.

Davis was somehow able to get things back on track later in the day when he asked for questions beyond the Michigan-Georgia ranking, but rest assured that he will be hearing plenty about his picks if Georgia continues its dominance this season. And if that happens and College GameDay makes the trip to Athens, may Uga have mercy on his soul.

[Rece Davis]

About Sean Keeley

Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.

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