For a long stretch, the Georgia Bulldogs felt untouchable. Kirby Smart had built a monument with blue-chip recruits, masterful player development, and a trophy case stocked with back-to-back national titles. Georgia was the new gold standard of college football. But fast forward to now? The ground underneath Athens is rumbling, and it’s getting louder.

The game isn’t just played between the lines anymore—it’s played in the NIL markets, in the portal chaos, and in living rooms across America. And suddenly, Georgia feels like they’re standing still while the rest of college football speeds right past. Last year’s 11–3 mark? It didn’t sound like a champion’s roar. It sounded like a warning bell. The whispers are growing louder, and Kirby Smart better start listening—because the world of college football isn’t waiting around for anybody.

Look, let’s be real: Georgia’s offense had fans clenching their teeth way too often last season. Their ground game? Absolutely flatlined. Ranking a brutal 102nd nationally with just 124.4 rushing yards per game, they were ahead of only LSU in the SEC. Even through the air, where they ranked a respectable 21st, their overall production still landed them just 82nd in total yards per game. And the defense? Not much of a safety blanket either, giving up an eyebrow-raising 405.4 yards per contest.

Dean Legge, host of UGA Football on Dawg Post, laid it out bluntly during a chat with Ryan Kerley and Matt DeBary: “How many times has Georgia had a defense not ranked in the top 16?” Spoiler alert: it’s rare. “I would say twice, the last year and the first year,” Kerley said, and DeBary seems to be on the same page.

Legge pointed out, “It’s happened once you’re right on where you sandwich these things. I said top 16. They were 16th in 2016, and they were 30th last year. You know where they were three years before that? They were ninth, ninth, and second.” That’s not just a slip—that’s a full-on slide from dominance.

Still, Legge gave Kirby his flowers too. “Georgia Kirby Smart knows how to do this,” he said, emphasizing that historically, Smart’s defenses have been elite. “It was because they were number two, number nine, and number nine in the country in total defense in 2019. They were exceptional as well; they were number three.” More importantly, Legge reminded everyone, “Georgia’s never had under Kirby a back-to-back season where one of the seasons wasn’t a top 10 year, so I would expect to some degree a recovery.”

Hopeful? Sure. But 30th is still 30th, and it didn’t exactly feel like just a few “bad games.”

Those bad games were glaring. Take Mississippi State—Georgia’s secondary looked exposed more often than not. Then the Ole Miss game? A total unraveling. Their pass rush couldn’t breathe on the quarterback, and the Rebels gashed them for 229 rushing yards. Even Georgia’s star safety Malaki Starks admitted after that beatdown, “They’re really a good offense.” That wasn’t exactly a defiant stance from a defense that once bullied everyone into submission.

Kirby Smart isn’t blind to the issues, though. He’s busy loading up the roster with elite talent like Raylen Wilson, Chris Cole, and Zayden Walker. And with blue-chip recruits like Elijah Griffin, there’s a fresh batch of young Dawgs coming in. But no matter how shiny the new names are, it’s the adjustments Smart makes—not just the talent he stacks—that will determine if Georgia gets back to bossing college football or slips further behind.

Kirby Smart’s Georgia makes a statement in the 2025 draft

Here’s the irony: while Georgia wrestled with inconsistency on the field, they absolutely flexed in the NFL Draft. No kidding, Georgia owned the 2025 Draft Day. They led the SEC with 13 players selected, the second-highest total of Smart’s tenure, just a tick behind the record-setting 2022 haul. As Connor Riley of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution pointed out, “Georgia led all SEC teams in terms of draft picks.” In other words, even with the on-field wobble, Smart’s factory of NFL-ready talent is still humming louder than anyone else’s.

And the first round? It was a Bulldogs party. Mykel Williams went 11th overall to the San Francisco 49ers, Jalon Walker landed at No. 15 with the Atlanta Falcons, and Malaki Starks capped it off by going 27th to the Baltimore Ravens. Riley highlighted, “It’s the third time in the last four years that Georgia has had multiple defensive players taken in the first round.” That’s not just a flex—it’s a dynasty blueprint.

The second and third rounds weren’t much different. Tate Ratledge (No. 57, Detroit Lions), Dylan Fairchild (No. 81, Cincinnati Bengals), and Jared Wilson (No. 95, New England Patriots) kept Georgia’s reputation for offensive line dominance intact. As Riley noted, “This marks Georgia’s sixth consecutive draft with multiple offensive linemen taken.”

Saturday turned into a full-blown Georgia parade. Arian Smith went to the Jets (No. 110), Trevor Etienne to the Panthers (No. 114), and a string of defensive players like Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Smael Mondon, and Warren Brinson found homes. Even the Lions and Patriots picked up more Dawgs—Dan Jackson and Dominic Lovett, respectively. Kirby Smart celebrated Jackson’s journey on X, posting, “We’ve come a long way since your first year on campus,” showing the kind of player growth Georgia still proudly hangs its hat on.

And the undrafted pool is no less dangerous. Nazir Stackhouse, Chaz Chambliss, Xavier Truss, and Benjamin Yurosek are all expected to land on NFL rosters soon enough.

Since 2022, Georgia has produced 13 first-round picks—more than any other college program. They’ve had a staggering 55 players drafted in the last five years. Georgia isn’t just competing on Saturdays—they’re dominating every April too. If Georgia’s still flooding the NFL with elite talent… how much longer will the fans tolerate anything less than national titles in Athens?