ATHENS - Georgia is now a consensus No. 6 in the nation.

The Bulldogs placed sixth in the Associated Press, released on Saturday morning. That's the same spot they were ranked in the USA Today coaches poll.

"I would have predicted us to not be quite as high in that poll," head coach Mark Richt said. "But it's good that people feel that way about us. But we all know  it doesn't mean a lot other than you're starting in a spot that if you take care of business you've got a chance to stay up there."

This is the third-highest preseason ranking for one of Richt's teams. They were No. 1 in 2008 and No. 3 in 2004.

"We want to be well-thought of," Richt said. "Have we earned it this year, no, but I guess from everybody's evaluation of who's returning and all that type of thing, they feel like we've got a chance. And the reality of college football is there's a vote. There's a vote at the end, to decide who goes where. So it is important. If it was a 16-team playoff the rankings probably wouldn't mean as much as they do today."

(The AP poll is not part of the formula for the BCS, ever since the AP requested it not be used anymore.)

This is the highest Georgia has been ranked since early in the 2008 season: The Bulldogs were No. 3 on Sept. 21, before losing at home to Alabama and falling to No. 11 in the AP poll.

Between Oct. 4, 2009, and Oct. 15 of 2011, Georgia was unranked 28 out of 32 weeks. It returned to the poll at No. 22, and has remained in the top 25 ever since.

There are five SEC teams in the top 10: Alabama (2), LSU (3), Georgia (6), South Carolina (9) and Arkansas (10).

Disclosure: I'm a member of the AP voting panel. Here's how I voted.

- Sifting through various ballots, it seems that voters from SEC territory tended to vote Georgia lower.

- The highest vote for Georgia was Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News, who put the Bulldogs at No. 3.

- ESPN's Chris Fowler voted Georgia at No. 10, three spots behind South Carolina. Fowler also put Florida at No. 20 and Auburn at 24.

- Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples voted Georgia at No. 7, two spots behind South Carolina. Auburn was No. 22 on his ballot, and Florida was out. He also voted Georgia Tech at 25.

- Joe Giglio of the Raleigh News and Observer had Georgia at No. 13. Josh Kendall of The State voted Georgia at No. 11.

Here is a link to the national AP story on the release of the poll.

The poll:

1     Southern Cal (25) .......... 1,445   
2     Alabama (17) ................  1,411    
3     LSU (16)     .......... ........  1,402    
4     Oklahoma (1)  ................ 1,286   
5     Oregon   ......................... 1,274   
6     Georgia    ......... .............. 1,107   
7     Florida St.  .....................  1,093  
8     Michigan (1) ................... 1,000   
9     South Carolina ................   994   
10     Arkansas .......................  963    
11     West Virginia .................  856    
12     Wisconsin .......................  838    
13     Michigan St. ....................  742    
14     Clemson ........................... 615    
15     Texas ...............................  569    
16     Virginia Tech ...................  548    
17     Nebraska .........................  485    
18     Ohio St. ............................ 474    
19     Oklahoma St. ................... 430    
20     TCU  ................................. 397    
21     Stanford ........................... 383    
22     Kansas St. ....................... 300    
23     Florida .............................. 214    
24     Boise St. .......................... 212    
25     Louisville ......................... 105    

Others Receiving Votes: Notre Dame 83, Washington 55, Auburn 53, North Carolina 32, Utah 30, Georgia Tech 25, BYU 22, Tennessee 15, South Florida 11, Baylor 9, Texas A&M 5, UCF 4, Cincinnati 3, Missouri 3, N.C. State 3, Houston 1, Louisiana Tech 1, Mississippi St. 1, N. Illinois 1.