The Georgia Bulldogs may be one of the most intimidating teams to appear on any of their opponents’ schedules. Although the team failed to make last season’s playoffs, this powerful team has the ability to pack a punch this season.
Head coach Kirby Smart is heading into his ninth year at Georgia. Hired in 2016 after serving under Nick Saban as Alabama’s defensive coordinator, Smart has led the Bulldogs to two College Football Playoff national championships in 2021 and 2022, two SEC championships in 2017 and 2022 and six SEC East Division championships in 2017-2019 and 2021-2023.
With back-to-back championships, Georgia was slated to be one of the biggest threats to any team during the 2023-24 season, but the Bulldogs didn’t make it to the College Football Playoffs, making it impossible for the team to win a third championship.
The foundation for building a college football program starts with recruiting the right players. To be the best for a long time, the most important thing to do is focus on recruiting strategies. Under Saban, who won the most national titles in college football history, Smart picked up several recruiting techniques. A large part of Alabama’s success in recruiting during the 2010s came directly from Smart himself.
Although having high-caliber players lays the foundation for creating college football’s newest empire, athletes are nothing without good discipline. Hard work turned each player into one part of a well-oiled machine. Still, nothing quite clicked until the addition of Stetson Bennett.
Bennett, who was a 2017 walk-on at Georgia, sat on the bench his entire first year without a single snap. After that season, Bennett transferred to Jones College, playing in 12 games for 16 passing touchdowns and 1,840 yards. After Justin Fields switched to Ohio State from Georgia, the Bulldogs offered Bennett a scholarship and he came home as the second-string quarterback. From 2019 onwards, Bennett was the missing puzzle piece to Georgia’s new dynasty — he played until 2022 and led the Dawgs to two national championships. With a career total of 8,429 passing yards, 601 completions, 66 touchdowns and a completion percentage of 65.1, Stetson became a Georgia legend until he moved on to the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft.
So what happened during the 2023-2024 season? Georgia seemed unstoppable after consecutive years of glory, especially as Alabama seemed to lose its footing with new quarterback Jalen Milroe’s shaky start. But after Alabama recovered from its losses, the Crimson Tide rose to the occasion to win Saban’s final SEC championship, knocking Georgia out of the College Football Playoff run.
With a lackluster defensive line and a transition to a new quarterback, Georgia had plenty of struggles during the 2023 season. Redshirt senior Carson Beck sat behind Bennett for three seasons before appearing on the field for 14 game starts. Although he ranked third nationally and first in the SEC for season passing yards at 3,941 total, issues with the run defense resulted in Georgia’s last, and fatal, loss of the season. Smart and his defensive coordinators, however, are quick to rebuild a crushing line.
Although Georgia did not make it to the College Football Playoff last season, the pressure that the team puts on their opponents should not be undermined. The Dawgs can easily return to the top of the SEC rankings and continue with their intimidating legacy.
