Brian Kelly thought Georgia was missing something.
Before the Bulldogs went to Oxford and hammered Ole Miss on Saturday night, the former Notre Dame and LSU coach said he didn’t see the same edge in this Georgia team that he had seen in past seasons. His criticism centered on what happened the week before against Florida.
“The flaw that I saw that Georgia has that they didn't have in the past is the inability to put away Florida last week,” Kelly said. “From an offensive perspective - they had that game from the beginning and they never put them away.
I think that's the difference between this Georgia team. They don't have that bite that you would see from year to year.
It is still a really good football team, and they can win this game.”
Kelly was wrong about the result in Oxford, but the point he was trying to make had some backing before Georgia’s trip to Ole Miss. The Bulldogs had already been involved in a few games that stayed tight longer than expected, including the road win at Alabama, the upset loss to Auburn and the slow-motion blowout over Florida.
Against Alabama, Georgia didn’t finish things off until a late first down and a Tide penalty pushed the game to the two-minute warning. Auburn’s win came with three Gunner Stockton turnovers. Florida, meanwhile, was never truly blown out so much as worn down over time.
Then came Saturday night. Georgia didn’t just beat Ole Miss - it overwhelmed the Rebels. The Bulldogs shut down the Ole Miss offense and kept piling on points while running the ball at will.
Kelly’s perspective also came from having seen one of Georgia’s most dominant teams firsthand. He coached against the 2022 Bulldogs, who went undefeated and beat his LSU team 50-30 in the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta. Georgia then edged Ohio State before overpowering Texas Christian in Los Angeles to win the national title.
Still, the broader picture this season is a little different from the one Kelly was pointing to. Georgia has only had two games in 2026 - Alabama and Auburn - that went down to the fourth quarter. The other six games have been multi-score wins over SEC opponents, including Arkansas, Oklahoma and Vanderbilt.
There’s also the reality of how college football has changed since that 2022 team. The transfer portal has reshaped the sport, and the kind of depth Georgia used to lean on has become harder for every program to maintain.
Even in 2022, the Bulldogs had a tense trip to Missouri as a huge favorite, and the emotional win over Ohio State was another rare test. Since then, Georgia has had to grind for wins in the same way everyone else has.
The Bulldogs are back home Saturday against Missouri in Athens. Kickoff is set for 3:30 on ABC.
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