Expectations are always a bit tricky at Georgia. The Bulldogs have won the SEC in each of the last two seasons, only to lose in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff.

Players this spring have spoken frequently about their desire to win a national championship.

“We’re a lot more hungry,” linebacker Justin Williams said. “You have a lot more younger guys that don’t know what to expect. So they just go out there and have a lot more fun. So they’re gonna play today fast. And that’s all they know how to do, is play fast. And us older guys that are year three, year two, year four, we just go out there and have fun.”

To do that, Georgia will once again have to make the College Football Playoff. The Bulldogs will face a new challenge in 2026, with the SEC moving to a nine-game conference schedule.

Yet John Talty of CBS Sports believes the Bulldogs have a relatively navigable slate in 2026. Georgia has conference home games against Oklahoma, Vanderbilt, Auburn and Missouri. The Bulldogs will visit Arkansas, Alabama, Ole Miss and South Carolina, while facing Florida in Atlanta.

Combine the schedule with Georgia’s returning talent and Talty believes the Bulldogs will comfortably clear their win total of 9.5 per Fan Duel.

“The last time Kirby Smart won less than 10 games in a full season was back in 2016, his first year in Athens,” Talty said. “With a pretty manageable conference slate in 2026, you should be bullish about the Bulldogs’ chances of besting expectations. Even with this high number, I love the Bulldogs to surpass it.”

Talty had Georgia winning 11 games, with the lone loss coming against Ole Miss on Nov. 7. Of the SEC teams, only Georgia and LSU are projected by Talty to go 11-1 next season, though he also has Texas going 8-1 in conference play.

Georgia has appeared in each of the previous five SEC championship games. If Georgia were to get to Atlanta again in 2026, it would set a record for the most consecutive appearances in the conference’s championship game. The last team to win three consecutive SEC titles was Alabama from 2014 through 2016.

The Bulldogs know they have a long season in front of them, especially with such lofty goals.

While the end game is the national championship, the Bulldogs know they have to take things one day at time, not overlooking the long journey ahead of them.

“I think that comes with just taking it step by step, being in the moment, not looking too far ahead, because right now we’re focused on the spring,” Williams said. “We can’t really focus too much on what’s going on in the future. So just focus on what’s planned for us right now and just attacking that spring.”