The Georgia football team was not picked to win the conference at SEC Media Days last week. Texas received more than double — 96 to 44 — the first-place votes of Georgia.

But a few key talent indicators show that the gap between Georgia and Texas isn’t as large as the voting body would have one believe.

Both Texas and Georgia had 13 selections on the All-SEC teams last week. The Longhorns do hold a slight edge when you consider that two of those selections come from Georgia kicker Peyton Woodring and wide receiver Zachariah Branch earning selections at two positions.

In terms of high-end talent, Texas placed five players on the First Team All-SEC ranking, while Georgia had eight. Four of those players for Georgia qualified as specialists, as the Bulldogs swept in that category.

The Bulldogs had zero offensive players on the first team, while Texas had two. Tight end Oscar Delp was a second-team selection at tight end, while offensive lineman Earnest Greene and running back Nate Frazier landed on the third team.

Georgia did place four defenders on the first team, compared to Texas’ three. Even in having to replace three first-round picks, Georgia’s defense should be among the most talented this coming season.

But All-SEC teams are perhaps not the real measure of talent. Consider that Arch Manning, who has made all of two starts in his college career, earned a third-team nod over more proven players such as Vanderbilt’s Diego Paiva and Arkansas’ Taylen Green.

Georgia does trump Texas in another important roster measuring tool, as Bud Elliott’s Blue-Chip Ratio was unveiled last week. The Blue-Chip Ratio takes note of the percentage of a team’s roster that is comprised four or five-star prospects. Since the advent of modern recruiting rankings in the early 2000s, every national champion has had a roster comprised at least 50% blue-chip prospects.

Georgia’s 2021 team was made up of 80% blue-chip recruits. The 2022 team, which also won the national championship, came in at 77%.

On paper, Georgia has a great percentage of blue-chip prospects entering 2025. This year’s team comes in at 84% blue-chip recruits.

That is the third-highest mark in the country. Alabama and Ohio State rank just ahead at 89%. Texas A&M is the only other team to push past the 80-percent mark, as the Aggies come in at 82%.

Texas is just behind Georgia in this metric, as the Longhorns sit at 78%. They are one of five teams Georgia will play this season that have a roster that is made up mostly of blue-chip recruits. Florida, Auburn and Tennessee are the other three programs.

The Blue-Chip Ratio doesn’t factor in transfer additions into the rankings. That perhaps undervalues programs such as Ole Miss, who have been able to consistently outperform their recruiting rankings under Lane Kiffin.

A season ago, Kirby Smart frequently bemoaned the lack of depth. That Georgia continues to operate at a deficit via the transfer portal — Georgia had 16 players leave the program last year while adding only 10 transfers — shows that will be the case once again.

On a spreadsheet, Georgia may have one of the most talented rosters in the country. But Smart routinely told reporters last week that Georgia will be a good bit younger in 2025 than in years past.

Much of the perceived talent on the Georgia roster comes in the form of inexperienced players.

“I mean, it’s just we’re a different team right now. We’ve got 54% of our roster is first, second year. I looked at it the other day, and it’s the most we’ve ever had in their first or second season at Georgia, and that’s a lot. It’s over half your team.

No position better exemplifies the difference between the perception of Georgia and the reality that Smart is staring at as the Bulldogs prepare for the upcoming season.

Christen Miller, who was voted First Team All-SEC, is Georgia’s most proven defensive lineman. Xzavier McLeod made meaningful contributions a year ago after transferring in from South Carolina.

Beyond that, the group is something of an enigma. Despite having three former five-star prospects in Elijah Griffin, Joseph Jonah-Ajonye and Jordan Hall. Griffin will be a freshman this year. Jonah-Ajonye and Hall have combined to miss more games than they’ve played in to this point in their careers.

The potential is there for this group. But it must prove that this coming season.

“I feel good about the defensive line,” Smart said. “When you lose the guys that played all those snaps, there’s just tons of snaps lost. That’s why we’re like a whole new team.”

Expectations will be high once again for Georgia entering this season. The Bulldogs, for all their questions, were picked to finish second in the league. Only Texas had more first-place votes among those at SEC Media Days.

But this Georgia team will be tested early and often in 2025. The Bulldogs play Tennessee and Alabama in September. Both have talented rosters and play a young Georgia team early enough to where its depth advantages may not be as pronounced.

Elliott’s Blue-Chip Ratio is used to determine which teams have enough raw talent to win a national championship. Georgia checks that box. It has done so every year under Smart, who has remained elite at procuring talent from the high school ranks.

How that talent is developed and deployed will go a long way in determining if Georgia can finish better than second in the SEC and perhaps win a third national championship under Smart.