SEC Preview: Can anyone stop Georgia?

Georgia’s offseason has been stunningly bad, replete with a deadly accident on the morning after the National Championship player which killed a Georgia player, 13 speeding tickets, an article accusing the school of not paying attention to sexual assault claims after complaints (the AJC Journalist who wrote the article was fired, despite the fact that the AJC’s investigation found no reason to call the actual article a fabrication), and the very public continued signing of a Jamaal Jarrette, who had been accused of sexual assault while on a recruiting trip.

Oh, and hilariously, Kirby Smart had to boot one of his transfers – Smoke Bouie (who came in from Texas A&M) – for – lying to a policeman and driving with a suspended license.

So apart from that, how are the Dawgs playing?

The two-time National Champions were put in the preseason No.1 position, and with the laughable schedule (more about that later!), the Dawgs will roll to the SEC Championship Game.

WHO’S GONE

Georgia sent 10 players to the NFL this year, headlined by Jalen Carter, Broderick Jones, and Nolan Smith in the first round. Stetson Bennett went in the fourth.

15 other players have transferred out, with WR Adonai Mitchell (Texas) and defensive linesman Bear Alexander (USC) headlining the list. We hope that the oft-injured WR Dominick Blaylock gets a full season to play at Georgia Tech, and Arik Gilbert time at Nebraska. The rest of them were back-ups.

WHO’S COME IN

The Bulldogs have added some great transfers – especially at wide receiver level. RaRa Thomas (Mississippi State) and Dominic Lovett (Missouri) both led their respective teams in receiving yards. RB Le’Neath Whitehead (Tennessee) has also been added for depth.

Oh, and Georgia also brings in the No.2-ranked recruiting group for 2023, to go with the No.3 one in 2022 (Texas A&M had the first in ’22, and half of that class have now transferred).

In other words, the Dawg Pound is stacked.

OFFENSE

We now know that Carson Beck, who’s been earning high plaudits from the Georgia brass, and also has game experience is going to start. But Gunner Stockton is a stud, and Brock Vandergriff still hasn’t left, which is stunning for me, because he’s never going to start in Athens.

Whoever is the QB, the best wide receiver the team has is tight end Brock Bowers. The guy could have started in the NFL after his first year. I would be shocked if he doesn’t go in the Top 5 of next year’s draft. Anyway, Adonai Mitchell’s decision to go to Texas instead of sticking around for another year won’t be a problem for the Dawgs. Thomas and Lovett are both excellent, and they’ve succeeded at this level. Ladd McConkey, Arian Smith, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and Dillon Bell are also going to play, which means that there is a surfeit of talent.

And if Kirby’s not up for throwing the ball, Daijan Edwards (over 700 yards last year) and Kendall Milton are both studs, although we don’t know how long Milton’s going to be on the sideline with a dodgy hamstring.

DEFENSE

It won’t be a surprise if Georgia’s offense has to bail out the defense at some point this season. The team lost 19 players on that line in the last 3 years. That’s incredible.

Leader after leader is making money in the pros, but the secondary will be absolutely elite, with Malaki Starks, Javon Bullard, and Tykee Smith are amazing. Starks and Bullard were Nos. 2 and 3 on the interception list, and had 10 passes defended betwen them. Starks also had 68 tackles last year. We’ll also be talking about Kamari Lassiter, who was voted preseason all-SEC team.

Linebackers Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson are both freaks. They led the Dawgs in tackles last year, and them coming back gives the team a huge lift.

THE SCHEDULE

Before Georgia fans start saying: ‘Yeah, but we had Oklahoma on the schedule and the game was cancelled because they came into the SEC’, they need to be reminded of their history. They were the ones who cancelled the clash. Remember, Texas and Alabama are playing this year.

UT Martin: W
Ball State: W
South Carolina: W
UAB: W
at Auburn: W
Kentucky: W
at Vanderbilt: W
Florida: W
Missouri: W
Ole Miss: W
at Tennessee: W
at Georgia Tech: W

The biggest game on Georgia’s schedule will be the second-last one, when they go to Tennessee. The atmosphere’s going to be off-the-hook, particularly if the Vols are still rolling and putting up the big points. Could be a battle where the winner goes to the SEC Championship Game. Otherwise, it’ll be a load of games that will be over by half-time…if not before.

OUR PREDICTION: Georgia will win the SEC Championship and the National Championship. 13-0