ATHENS - ESPN’s latest look at the national landscape says Georgia football still lives near the top, but it no longer looks untouchable.
The Bulldogs remain an SEC heavyweight and are coming off a stretch that few programs can match, but the numbers ESPN cited paint a picture of a team that has come back to the pack in this NIL and transfer portal era. Georgia went 35-2 against Power 5 opponents from 2021 through 2023, a run that helped define the peak of the Kirby Smart era. Over the past two seasons, though, the Bulldogs are 18-5 against power conference teams, and their average margin of victory has dropped to less than half of what it was in those earlier three years.
ESPN’s David Hale used that backdrop to frame a conversation between Smart and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin after the 2025 spring session, when both coaches reportedly told each other, “we stink.”
Kiffin’s point, as ESPN relayed it, was that no current team should be expected to stack up with the kind of talent Alabama had from 2014-16 or with Georgia’s 2021-2023 run, when the Bulldogs won back-to-back CFP championships and produced 33 NFL Draft picks, including 10 first-round selections.
The article also noted that Georgia’s last playoff win remains that 65-7 rout of TCU in the CFP Championship Game after the 2022 season. Since then, 11 different schools have won games in the College Football Playoff.
ESPN pointed to Smart’s roster-building approach as another reason Georgia has been a little more vulnerable. The report said Smart has “hinted at his reluctance to pay big money to incoming freshmen and over the past three offseason cycles has taken (and lost) the fewest transfers in the SEC,” with 30 incoming transfers and 43 departures.
That issue has already shown up this season. Two of Georgia’s portal additions, Auburn defensive end Amaris Williams and Kentucky tailback Dante Downdell, are out indefinitely - Williams with a knee injury and Downdell because of an accident.
Even with those concerns, Hale left open the possibility that Smart could still win another national title this season. The Bulldogs, however, would need to sharpen two areas Smart has already identified: explosive offense and a stronger pass rush.
ESPN backed up that concern with a few blunt numbers. Georgia ranked 126th out of 134 FBS teams in the share of passing yardage coming on throws more than 10 yards downfield, with just 39 percent coming on those plays. That fits with the profile of former wideout Zachariah Branch, whose 81 catches last season produced 811 receiving yards, but 634 of those yards - 78 percent - came after the catch.
The pass rush numbers were just as stark. Georgia’s pressure rate on non-blitz dropbacks against Power 4 teams was 24.5 percent, which ranked 63rd out of 68 Power 4 schools. The Bulldogs managed nine sacks on non-blitzes last season, down from 21 in 2024 and well below the 36 they had on the 2021 team.
ESPN’s trust list also reflected where Georgia stands nationally. Indiana, Miami, Notre Dame and Ohio State were placed in the “Tier 1, Safest Bets” group, while Oregon and Texas were grouped with Georgia in “Tier 2, Trust Issues.”
Still, the Bulldogs have made a habit of finishing near the top. Georgia has landed in the final AP Top 25 top 10 in nine of Smart’s 10 seasons, and ESPN ranked the program ninth nationally in returning production. That includes 13 of 18 defensive players who logged more than 200 snaps last season coming back.
In Other News...
Georgia Has A 2026 Sleeper Battle Fans Need To Watch
As Georgias staff and beat-watchers turn the page toward 2026, the conversation is already tilting beyond the obvious names and into the players who could quietly shape the roster. In a recent DawgNation roundtable, several contributors picked out under-the-radar Bulldogs who have flashed enough in fall camp, or shown enough in earlier work, to suggest their roles could grow well before anyone outside the program is talking about them.
The list of names is a reminder of how much talent can still be buried on a loaded depth chart, with Demello Jones, Josh Horton, Chase Linton, Craig Dandridge, Zayden Walker and Ethan Barbour all drawing mention as possible impact pieces. The most intriguing part is how quickly these kinds of internal debates can change once the season starts, and one of the more interesting sleeper calls in that group may end up telling the real story of Georgias next wave of contributors. [Read more 🡒]
Stetson Bennett Faces A Rams Opportunity He May Not Get Again
Stetson Bennett got the first crack at the Rams preseason opener, starting the game and handling the first two series before rookie Ty Simpson took over. For Bennett, it was the kind of early August audition that still matters for a quarterback trying to hold onto a place in the league, especially with the Rams giving him a long look in a backup role behind the starter.
The problem is that the depth chart rarely stays still in preseason, and Simpsons surge only adds pressure on Bennett to make every snap count while he still has the chance. With his contract set to expire after this season, this month may end up being less about what Bennett can do for the Rams now and more about what he can do to help his next opportunity take shape. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Sends Georgia Defense A Message Fans Cant Ignore
Georgias first fall scrimmage offered a familiar mix of encouragement and urgency, with the defense drawing praise for its overall showing even as the staff made it clear there is still room to grow. After a season in which the unit had trouble at times generating quarterback pressure and holding up in pass coverage, the standard in Athens remains simple: good enough in practice is not the same as good enough when the games count.
Kirby Smart used the moment to push defensive coordinator Glenn Schumann to keep driving the group past where it is now, a public reminder that Georgia is not interested in settling for early camp progress. The message was less about one scrimmage than the weeks ahead, when the Bulldogs will have to show that the defense has truly taken a step forward instead of just looking sharper in a controlled setting. [Read more 🡒]