The AP Poll rubbed many of the SEC teams the wrong way, particularly those jockeying for position inside of the top 10.

Count No. 8 Georgia as one of them.

Georgia dropped one spot in the AP Top 25 after a 48-6 rout of Southern on Saturday. The Bulldogs fell into the same position as No. 9 LSU and No. 13 Alabama, teams that despite lopsided victories fell down in the national rankings. Similarly, No. 14 Texas A&M stood pat despite an overtime triumph on the road at Arkansas.

The presumptive favorite to win the SEC East, Georgia has yet to garner the national attention or credit that perhaps the team deserves. It could be argued, however, that the Bulldogs have yet to earn a signature victory yet this season, that the body of work the team has pieced together in its 4-0 start lacks … well, any real bravado.

That can all change Saturday in Athens, though.

This weekend, No. 8 Georgia welcomes No. 13 Alabama into town for an annual SEC showdown that’s been tilted in one team’s favor for quite some time.

The Crimson Tide have won each of their past two meetings against Georgia, both in Atlanta in 2012 to capture the conference crown and in 2008 in Athens. Those games were decided by a combined 13 points, and, in fact, four the teams’ last five games dating back to 2002 have been decided by single-digit margins.

While the Bulldogs and other members of the SEC were seemingly disrespected in the latest AP Top 25, the team did receive an honor no Alabama opponent has had in six years.

Georgia is favored against the Tide, marking the first time that Nick Saban’s team has been considered an underdog in a game since 2009, a streak that spans 72 consecutive games.

Undoubtedly, being placed in that position comes with pressure.

Emotions will be running at an all-time high on Saturday in Athens as the Bulldogs seek their first victory against a ranked opponent this season. They will be trying to snap a two-game losing skid against Alabama with the burden of being expected to do so. This is just secondary storylines as Georgia also looks to remain on course toward capturing the SEC East and competing for the conference championship, a likely de facto play-in game for the College Football Playoff.

Wins against Louisiana-Monroe, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Southern are nice when building up a 4-0 start to the season, but it pales in comparison to a victory against Alabama. A win in that spot not only improves the Bulldogs’ record to 5-0, but sets up back-to-back winnable in-conference games against Tennessee and Missouri before hosting No. 25 Florida on Halloween, which would be Georgia’s last major hurdle of the season.

In the SEC, it is never unprecedented that a mid-October tilt can represent so much in terms of both short-term and long-term goals. History is certainly up for grabs, as well as conference supremacy and perhaps a berth in the postseason.

Georgia’s 4-0 mark speaks for itself, but as the AP Top 25 indicates, there’s not much substance behind it. The team is in need of a signature victory, and there’s no better opportunity than this weekend to earn it.

If the Bulldogs are going to be the team that many projected them to be, the time is now to prove us right. Let’s see what happens when the pressure is finally on.