Georgia opens the season as the top-ranked SEC team in the AP Poll. The No. 3 Bulldogs were picked to win the SEC at media days.

But as far as winning a national championship, few in the national media believe that is something Georgia is capable of doing in 2026.

None of ESPN’s 12 panelists selected the Bulldogs in their preseason roundtable. Notre Dame, Ohio State and Texas were the most popular picks, despite Notre Dame and Texas being ranked lower than Georgia in the initial AP Poll.

What is interesting is that all 12 of those same panelists had Georgia as a College Football Playoff team this coming season.

It’s clear the Bulldogs are viewed as a good, but not great, team entering this season.

Perhaps no player better represents that line of thinking than quarterback Gunner Stockton.

Despite finishing seventh in Heisman Trophy voting last season, Stockton was rated by CBS Sports as the No. 12 quarterback in the sport this coming season.

“Stockton proved he’s got a high floor during his first season as the full-time starter in 2025, guiding Georgia to an SEC title,” David Cobb of CBS Sports wrote. “But Georgia’s ceiling as a team will, to some extent, depend on Stockton’s ability to elevate from “reliably efficient” to something more. The Bulldogs need an alpha to emerge within their receiver room to help Stockton, who ranked 129th among FBS quarterbacks in air yards per attempt at just 6.6 in 2025.”

The questions when it comes to the wide receiver room have been something the Bulldogs have heard all offseason.

Even with strong running back and tight end rooms, the Bulldogs need to have several players emerge at wide receiver.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared this week what he wants to see from the group entering this season.

“Be the guy that executes better than the guy you’re across from,” Smart said. “Tight end, kicker, any position we’ve got. Defensively, outside linebacker. I want all those guys to perform at a high level and do it regardless of who the opponent is. It doesn’t matter who the opponent is. Our opponent is ourselves and that’s pretty much going to be the case every week. Wideouts are no different.”

As for Georgia proving itself, the Bulldogs open against Tennessee State and Western Kentucky. Georgia’s first ranked game of the season isn’t on the schedule until the Bulldogs face Oklahoma on Sept. 26.

Georgia has lost its first College Football Playoff game in each of the past two seasons.

It knows that if it is to change the narrative around the program — that it is no longer an annual title contender — it will have to be at its best at the end of the season.

“Remember, Georgia has yet to win a CFP game in the expanded 12-team field,” Ari Wasserman of On3 said. “This is another one where it feels like it’s either a run to the national title game or there’s no return on investment. I need to see Georgia break through and win on the biggest stage in this new environment before I’m on the wagon with everyone else just assuming it’s going to happen again.”

Georgia begins the season on Saturday with a 3 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN+.