It’s been noticed this week that one RPI estimate puts Georgia ahead of North Carolina. Ordinarily that would be one hell of a benchmark for a program, but this year it’s a punchline and just a bit of trivia as Carolina’s season swirls around the bowl. (Other RPI estimates still have Georgia behind UNC.)

We’ve seen Georgia and Carolina against a couple of common opponents – Kentucky and Georgia Tech. It’s not close. Carolina has no one with the abilities of Travis Leslie, and I’d take Trey Thompkins right now over (a healthy) Ed Davis. The Dawgs beat Georgia Tech, and they gave Kentucky a much better game at Rupp.

Yes, there’s a bit of tongue-in-cheek here since we all know that Carolina lost a lot of punch from last year’s national championship team while Georgia, well, didn’t. Recruiting heals many wounds, and UNC is between waves of talent though their current lineup is hardly without highly-touted players. Georgia will add some interesting pieces next year to continue their rebuilding project, but Carolina will welcome what might be the nation’s best incoming class of perimeter players. An RPI in the 80s is a low point for Carolina. Can Georgia recruit well enough going forward to make sure that a similar RPI is also Mark Fox’s low point?

Aside: Georgia’s also not very far away from Oklahoma in the current RPI estimations. Sooner coach Jeff Capel was considered a leading candidate to fill the Georgia vacancy a year ago.