NASHVILLE — Georgia football has accomplished a lot under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs have won the SEC East five times since Smart took over. Twice, they’ve ended the season as the SEC champion. And of course, the Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships.
But Georgia has not yet received the kind of recognition at the beginning of the season that it always earns at the end of the year. Forget being ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll to start the year, Georgia has not yet even been picked to win the SEC to open a season.
That in all likelihood will change this week at SEC media days in Nashville. Even with questions abound about the state of the Georgia football program, the Bulldogs seem to have ascended to being the top team in college football’s top conference.
Smart’s team is the betting favorite to win the national championship yet again this season. We’re a long way from getting to that point and betting odds don’t always translate to end-of-season success. Even within the SEC, the two times Georgia won the league under Smart, Alabama was the SEC preseason pick to do so. And the Crimson Tide did not make it to Atlanta in either 2017 or 2022.
Only once since the league began playing the SEC championship has Georgia been picked to win the SEC at media days. That came back in 2004. Georgia did not win the SEC East that season, as it went 9-2 but lost to both teams that went on to play for the SEC championship in Auburn and Tennessee.
There are a number of non-Georgia reasons the Bulldogs are likely to be the pick by the league’s media members this week to end the season as conference champions. We can’t ignore Georgia’s schedule, which sees them draw Auburn and Ole Miss from the SEC West. Tennessee and South Carolina both made significant steps forward last season but with Florida being down, the SEC East isn’t seen as a gauntlet.
Other than a road trip to Tennessee on Nov. 18, Georgia will be a double-digit favorite in every game it plays this season. While it’s not Georgia’s fault that Florida and Auburn are in rebuilds, it does not help its schedule.
As for the other top contenders, Georgia likely won’t face the same level of scrutiny or doubt that Alabama, LSU or Tennessee will. Going undefeated after losing a record 15 players to the NFL draft buys you that luxury.
Alabama and Tennessee both have new quarterbacks and offensive coordinators. Georgia does as well, but the Bulldogs have not been as reliant on strong quarterback play as those two programs have. Even with Stetson Bennett being a Heisman finalist a season ago and Todd Monken heading to the NFL, Georgia’s defense is expected to take a big step forward.
As for LSU, the Tigers still got blown out by Tennessee a season ago and lost to Texas A&M. There’s reason to be excited if you’re an LSU fan but the 2022 SEC Championship Game may temper some from picking LSU to win the league this season. Georgia won 50-30 in a game that did not feel as close as the final score indicated.
For as much as we’ve questioned other teams to this point, Georgia will need to provide some football-related answers this week. Smart will undoubtedly have to answer questions about his team’s culture given the offseason Georgia has had but there are some on-field matters that need addressing.
Quarterback figures to come up a bunch this week given Georgia will be replacing Bennett. The Bulldogs haven’t named a starter yet but all signs point to Carson Beck being that guy. You can bet player representatives Brock Bowers and Sedrick Van Pran will field more than a few questions about who will be Georgia’s next quarterback.
On the defensive side of the ball, Georgia has to replace two All-Americans in Chris Smith and Jalen Carter. Add in Kelee Ringo and Nolan Smith and you have some big shoes that need to be filled. Given the way Georgia has recruited and developed on this side of the ball, Georgia will likely be seen as the team with the top defense. Kamari Lassiter is the lone defensive player in Nashville this week for Georgia but Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard, Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Nazir Stackhouse will all garner All-SEC votes.
A year ago when SEC media days were held in Atlanta, Smart spoke about how Georgia would not be hunted. Even though Georgia had just won the national championship — beating Alabama to do so — the Bulldogs were not seen as the top team in the league. Smart, wisely, used that as motivation.
He won’t be able to give the same speech this time around. It’s a problem Smart will surely deal with, as that is what comes with winning a second-straight national championship.
Georgia now has the benefit of the doubt when it comes to replacing key pieces. In the 31 years since the SEC championship game was established, only nine times has the preseason pick won the league.
Smart’s team will look to be the 10th to do so. Even if it requires a slightly different mindset than what previous Georgia teams have had, this program is at a point where it is more than capable of backing up the preseason hype it is likely to receive in Nashville this week.
