ATHENS — Georgia has had a lot of success under Kirby Smart. But in recent years, the Bulldogs haven’t had the ending they would like.

The Bulldogs missed the final four team College Football Playoff field in 2023. Georgia responded by winning the SEC in each of the last two seasons, only to go one-and-done in the 12-team field both times.

The Bulldogs return a number of contributors from last season’s team, beyond just starting quarterback Gunner Stockton. That experience is a big reason a few CBS Sports analysts expect Georgia to at least make it to the final four of this year’s College Football Playoff.

“Georgia has been quietly rising over the last two years, and though the pass rush isn’t what it was four years ago, Kirby Smart’s program is stronger in more areas than people acknowledge,” Brandon Marcello said.

The pass rush is one area where Georgia knows it has to improve. The Bulldogs ranked 107th in the country last season in sacks, finishing with just 20 on the season.

Georgia has a new outside linebackers coach in Larry Knight. Georgia added Auburn transfer Amaris Williams at the position while bringing back Gabe Harris and Quintavius Johnson. Chase Linton has generated early buzz at the position as he moves into his second year with the program.

Georgia’s defensive front should be one of the best in college football. Georgia has to replace only two key contributors in the front seven from last season’s team and the Bulldogs have plenty of options it could go with.

Even in a strong SEC, Cody Nagel believes Georgia has the talent to rise to the top.

“Texas with Arch Manning is the trendy pick to represent the SEC with a deep postseason run, but Georgia is hard to overlook. Despite back-to-back quarterfinal exits, Kirby Smart’s program continues to operate at a championship-caliber baseline,” Nagel said.

The Bulldogs have won the SEC in each of the previous two seasons and will look to win their third consecutive conference crown. The schedule presents plenty of challenges, including 2025 College Football Playoff teams in Oklahoma, Alabama and Ole Miss. Only the game against Oklahoma will be played in Athens.

Georgia is the only team in each of the previous two College Football Playoffs to earn a top four seed. But that high ranking hasn’t produced the success Georgia would like, creating a very hungry team in 2026.

“Just coming so close and just not being able to pull it off, it definitely hurts,” Georgia safety KJ Bolden said. “But it just makes you more hungry. Like, it makes you more hungry where you want to go out there and just play harder for your brothers. You’ve got a lot of people on this team who ain’t never won anything in their life before, never won a championship, never won anything like that. So you just wanna go out there and do it for them.”