ATHENS — Kirby Smart doesn’t take anything for granted to the extent no one dare utter the word “complacency” in his football building, much less exhibit the slightest hint of it.

Georgia is the defending SEC football champion, riding an SEC-record 32-game home field win streak as Smart enters into his 10th season as the Bulldogs head coach.

But no, last season’s 23-10 loss to Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl CFP quarterfinal didn’t leave Smart or anyone else in the football building with a good feeling.

Marshall — with an eye-popping 62 new players in its program — is next up for Smart’s hungry Bulldogs at 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 30 (TV: ESPN) in that both teams’ season-opening game.

The oddsmakers don’t expect it to be pretty.

Georgia is a 39.5-point favorite over the Thundering Herd — per DraftKings.com.

It seems like a sizable number considering it’s only the second career start for rising junior Gunner Stockton.

The 39.5-point spread might seem even more imposing when one considers UGA has not excelled against the betting spread under Smart of late:

• 2024 - 4-9

• 2023 - 5-8

• 2022 - 8-6

• 2021 - 10-4

• 2020 - 4-6

Georgia is, no doubt, a much better team than Marshall.

Especially this Marshall team, which in addition to the massive player overhaul, has a new coaching staff.

Still, one wonders with more than 30 new players in his program, how soon will Smart pull his starters if the opening game is a blowout as many expect?

Specifically, how long will Smart leave the starting quarterback — presumably Gunner Stockton — in the game?

And, once the back-up is in — projected to be Ryan Puglisi at the moment — what type of game plan will the back-up play with?

Do Smart and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo keep the playbook wide open to give the back-up quarterback what could prove to be valuable in-game reps?

Or does the head coach feel the game-like reps he gets his quarterbacks in practice serve enough of a purpose so as not to need to throw the ball against an overmatched opponent like Marshall?

Further, how much will Smart focus on the run game versus on turning Stockton loose to build some in-game chemistry with new receivers?

Another factor is the length of the season and Smart’s ways of managing his team effectively, which in the past has seen him call several run plays consecutively in the fourth quarter to keep the clock running and shrink the number of snaps.

As hard as Georgia is known for going in practices, Smart might not feel the need to run a great deal of plays against a team like Marshall.

The last time the Bulldogs played an overmatched non-conference opponent in Sanford Stadium it resulted in a 59-21 win over UMass.

Stockton, then the back-up to Carson Beck, entered the game with 10:04 left and UGA up 45-21.

Stockton was an efficient 3-of-4 passing for 45 yards and led the team on an 8-play, 65-yard touchdown drive to make it 52-21.

The last time Georgia kicked off the season against an overmatched non-conference team, it was UT-Martin in 2023.

The Bulldogs won that game 48-7, and both Brock Vandagriff and Stockton were allowed to throw the ball multiple times after replacing Beck with 3:27 left in the third quarter.

The guess here is Bobo will want to make a statement with the offense and allow Stockton — and Puglisi — to build confidence.

A reloaded offensive line will have something to prove, as will a new batch of transfer receivers and capable tight ends.

Marshall, with all of its newness, will be no match.

The Pick: Georgia 51, Marshall 10