Can Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs be the SEC winners this season? Can they reclaim their former glory as a straight two-time national champion? Georgia doesn’t particularly have the easiest schedule this season, as they’re set to meet five of the top 15 schools of the US LBM Coaches Poll. While the games against Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss, among others, pose a challenge, expectations still soar for the Bulldogs. 

Georgia boasts a coach mastermind in Kirby Smart. They have QB Carson Beck, who is projected as the potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Their roster is as good as any team in the country, and they don’t have much of a weakness for which to judge them. So, are they really going to be the top team this season?

Georgia is viewed by many as an undefeatable team, but JD PicKell has a formula that could work to beat them. As shown in the On3 on August 12 episode, to beat Georgia, PicKell said, “You’d have to catch them on the wrong day like they’re just somehow not locked in. They’re not focused. They kind of sleepwalk for the first couple of quarters and you just pull away… You out-scheme them.” But will the Bulldogs be sleeping this season, considering they’ve fallen short of last year’s playoffs after two straight years of being the national champs?

Georgia is poised to reach the postseason with an expanded playoff, and Kirby Smart stresses that. He said, “It’s really important that we establish depth, that we’re looking at a potentially longer season.” The Bulldogs only lost two games in the past three years, and as ESPN CFB analyst Paul Finebaum said, “The playoffs benefit Kirby Smart. He has a game to burn! He has two games to burn!” And with Georgia’s weapons, the playoff isn’t an unrealistic target. 

The best fuel Georgia football

The main reason that Georgia is a formidable team is because of the individuals that make up the team. Only the best make it to the Georgia football team, from the players to the coaches. Kirby Smart is one of the best HCs in CFB, while Carson Beck is, if not the best, easily a top 3 QB. This is further accentuated by Georgia ranking No. 1 in the Coaches Poll Top 25 Ranking this season for two straight years. And as TE coach Todd Hartley said, “The expectation around [Georgia] is that you’ve got to be the best coach at your position in the country.”

The EA Sports CFB 25 rated Georgia the best team in the game with an unrivaled 95 overall rating. Will Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs emulate this game’s success on the actual football field? Less than three weeks remain until their season starts with an opener against Clemson on August 31.