Kirby Smart didn’t label last season a rebuilding year, but the roster told the story for him. Georgia was leaning on a group that was still awfully young, with more than half the team made up of first- and second-year players. Add in 13 NFL draft picks gone, four more players leaving as free agents, and a first-year starter at quarterback, and the Bulldogs were operating with a very different look.
Now that group is back, and the result is one of the most seasoned rosters in the SEC.
That’s the part Nick Saban has keyed in on. The seven-time national championship coach has Georgia sitting right alongside Texas at the top of the league this season.
“I think they are the two teams that, at least looking on paper, probably have the best chance to be successful and maybe go a long way in the playoff,” Saban told Pat MaAfee on ESPN.
“I think there are other teams that definitely can challenge them, including Alabama, who has a lot of unknowns and may be able to sneak up on people this year under the radar.”
Saban’s view carries some weight, especially considering the changes around Alabama after his retirement in January 2024. He is being paid an annual salary of $500,000 by Alabama in an advisory role, and back in August 2022 he had signed an $11.7 million extension through February 2030, which made plenty of people think retirement was still a long way off.
When Saban stepped away, 10 Alabama players entered the NCAA transfer portal during the special 30-day window tied to his retirement. That group included Caleb Downs, now at Ohio State; Julian Sayin, the Buckeyes’ current quarterback; receiver Isaiah Bond, who is at Texas; and cornerback Trey Amos, now at Ole Miss.
That experience gives Saban a sharp view of what happens when a team loses the kind of core pieces Alabama lost. It also explains why Georgia’s approach stood out to him. Smart has invested in keeping players in Athens instead of relying heavily on the portal or banking on immediate help from freshmen, and Saban believes that matters.
“I like Georgia’s team,” Saban said, “and what I’ve noticed about this new era of college football with lots of transfers and changing rosters, the people that can keep their players and they have an aging team, like Georgia had a very young team last year, but they’re going to be an older team this year, and I think Texas is going to be older and more mature as a team this year so I think that gives you a huge advantage.”
Saban also pointed to Indiana as an example of how age and experience can tilt things, crediting another former assistant, Curt Cignetti, whose stop at Alabama ran from 2007 to 2010.
“Indiana last year was a very mature team when It comes to age, experience of players,” Saban said. “That matters.
When you’ve got 23 and 24 year old guys playing it’s a lot different than 18 and 19.”
The numbers back up the broader point. ESPN metrics list Notre Dame as the team with the most retiring production at 72%, while Texas sits sixth at 68%, just ahead of Georgia, also at 68%.
Like Georgia, Texas also returns its starting quarterback, Arch Manning.
In Other News...
Georgia QB Battle Is Heating Up As Stetson Bennett Turns Heads
Stetson Bennett keeps finding ways to stay part of the Georgia conversation, even while he is wearing a different uniform. The former Bulldogs quarterback started and played the first half for the Rams in their second preseason game, showing plenty of command and also making an impact on the ground with a pair of rushing scores. Back in Athens, Georgia held its second fall scrimmage and the offense looked sharper than it did a week earlier, a welcome sign as the Bulldogs continue sorting out the depth chart behind Gunner Stockton.
Stockton remains the starter, but the more interesting battle right now may be for the backup job, where Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery are pushing each other through camp. With Ty Simpson handling the second half for the Rams and turning in a less effective outing, Bennetts strong showing only adds another layer to the quarterback discussion Georgia fans are following closely. The top of the room is settled for now, but the next step in the race is still very much in motion. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Fans Will Love David Pollacks New Take On Texas
David Pollack has been around enough college football to know the difference between legitimate buzz and empty preseason noise, and his latest read on Texas lands squarely in the first category. The former Georgia linebacker said the Longhorns deserve the attention coming their way entering the 2026 season, pointing to a roster he sees as loaded and a team that ought to carry itself like a contender instead of leaning on excuses.
His comments also carried a clear contrast with the way he viewed Texas a year earlier, when he thought the hype outpaced the results. This time, Pollack is tying the conversation to Arch Manning and the expectations that come with a program built to win big, making it clear that anything short of a high-level run will be treated as a missed opportunity. [Read more 🡒]
Stetson Bennett Still Faces One Big Rams Problem After Strong Showing
Stetson Bennetts second preseason game with the Rams gave him a much-needed boost, but it did not really settle the bigger question hovering over his season. He played well enough to remind the team why he has hung around the quarterback conversation, even as Los Angeles continues to map out a future that appears to have Ty Simpson at the center of it.
Bennett is still working against the reality of a quarterback room with a first-round pick waiting in the wings, and his own contract is set to expire after this season. Every strong outing helps his case, whether that means sticking with the Rams or making himself more appealing elsewhere, but the path forward remains murky until the team decides how it wants to handle its long-term plans under center. [Read more 🡒]