Former Florida star Chris Doering admits he has a bias toward Georgia, but not the kind one might expect from a former football rival.

Doering, who appears weekly on several SEC Network programs, including the popular SEC football Final, is as bullish on the Bulldogs as any national analyst.

“I think it’s Georgia and everybody else, and that’s not just in the East, it’s in the conference in general,” Doering said on the Ingles On The Beat Show on Monday night on DawgNation.

“I think there’s a pretty signifiant gap.”

Doering said he was “shocked” to see ESPN’s FPI Power Index giving Ohio State and Alabama higher percentage chances of winning the national title that UGA.

“Maybe it has something to do with history, and no one three-seating since the 1930s when Minnesota did it,” Doering said. “But to me, (Kirby Smart) has shown the ability to reload defensively when he’s lost first-round guys, and they’ve had the next guys step up.

“And certainly, he has shown the ability to keep them hungry, as they went undefeated last year.”

Doering said he’s not as high on the Crimson Tide as many others seem to be in the preseason.

“I think LSU probably wins the West, but I think they are still a step or two behind where Georgia is,” Doering said. “Alabama, to me, is a team that wins nine games this year. I’m not buying the hype on them winning a division or even SEC Championship.”

And that is where Doering admits he has a bias favoring Georgia over Alabama, even though there are key similarities.

“When I look at Alabama, I dock them because they have a new offensive coordinator, and I dock them because they have a new quarterback,” Doering said. “But when I look at Georgia, they have the same scenario and I don’t hit Georgia the same way.

“I think that has a lot to do with what Georgia has shown me the past couple of years, and I think it has a lot to do with the pieces surrounding the quarterback.”

Indeed, Doering pointed out Alabama had a No. 1 NFL draft pick at quarterback last year that couldn’t overcome offensive shortcomings.

“Alabama has been largely disappointing on the offensive line and at the wide receiver position, and last year Bryce Young was rescuing both of those position groups,” Doering said.

“Whether it was a guy coming free and him making them miss and scrambling for a first down, or a receiver dropping the ball on the third down and Bryce Young patting him on the back and picking him back up.

“Georgia does not have that problem. Georgia has the best offensive line in the conference and maybe the best in the country, and they have a group of receivers like they’ve never had before. That obviously is in compliment to what they have at the tight end position.”

Doering, who arrives in Charlotte, N.C., each Thursday night to begin his weekend studio coverage on the SEC Network and stays through Sunday, has enjoyed watching the Georgia offense.

“I’m thrilled to watch this Georgia wide receiving corps, as a fan of the wide receiver position,” Doering said, “and (now) what I’ve heard about what Dominic Lovett has done since coming over from Missouri and being a compliment to Ladd McConkey.

“The pieces around Carson Beck will help him acclimate easier than what Alabama has.”