Greg McElroy sees Georgia as the safest bet in college football - and he’s not shy about why.
The former Alabama quarterback and ESPN analyst wrapped up his preseason top 10 on his Always College Football podcast this week, slotting Ohio State at No. 1, Notre Dame at No. 2 and Georgia all the way down at No.
- That still made the Bulldogs his highest-ranked SEC team, even if McElroy’s bigger point was about the program’s baseline.
“The projections have Georgia around 10-2, so sixth is me saying that Georgia has the highest floor in college football and the ceiling depends almost entirely on some 19-year-old wide receivers becoming huge problems for people in October,” McElroy said.
He went even further in his praise of Kirby Smart’s operation. “Kirby Smart's program (is) kind of the most boringly elite operation in the sport,” McElroy said.
Georgia enters the year with plenty of familiar pieces back. Gunner Stockton returns after helping the Bulldogs go 12-2 and win a second straight SEC championship, capped by a 28-7 win over Alabama in Atlanta.
The backfield is intact, too, with Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens both deciding not to leave. Frazier rushed for 947 yards and six touchdowns and earned third-team All-SEC honors, while Bowens added 526 yards and six scores as a freshman.
Tight end Lawson Luckie is back for his senior season as well.
The defense, as usual, is built to carry its weight. Georgia finished fourth nationally against the run and tied for 10th in scoring defense last season, though Smart made clear he wants more from that side of the ball.
“We have to generate more turnovers and generate more havoc. We've got to be more explosive on offense,” Smart said.
ESPN’s Booger McFarland also said the Bulldogs didn’t quite live up to the defense’s standard in 2025, though he believes they could be in for a surprise this year.
McElroy’s hesitation comes down to the receiver room. Georgia lost Zachariah Branch, Colbie Young, Dillon Bell and Noah Thomas, and London Humphreys is the only returning wideout who had more than 15 catches last season. He finished with 18 receptions for 276 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs added only one portal receiver, bringing in Isiah Canion from Georgia Tech after he caught 33 passes for 480 yards and four touchdowns. The 6-foot-4 Warner Robins native is expected to work at the X spot. Beyond him, Georgia is leaning on former five-star Talyn Taylor, Sacovie White-Helton and Landon Roldan.
Smart keeps coming back to the ground game as the key to everything else. “We have to be able to run the football.
Show me a good team that wins championships that can't run the football,” Smart said. Georgia averaged 182.1 rushing yards per game last season, which ranked fourth in the SEC.
The schedule should give that young receiving group some room to grow before the biggest tests hit. Georgia opens against Tennessee State on Sept. 5 at 3 p.m.
ET, then hosts Western Kentucky. Oklahoma comes to Athens on Sept. 26 for the first real barometer, and road trips to Alabama on Oct. 10 and Ole Miss on Nov. 7 follow after that.
The Bulldogs have fallen in the CFP quarterfinals in each of the last two seasons, most recently a 39-34 loss to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl.
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The more interesting work still lies in the spots that are less settled. Position battles continue at wide receiver, offensive line and in the secondary, giving the coaching staff several decisions to sort out before the opener. The quarterback situation also remains a point to watch as the camp grind continues, with the staff still weighing how the depth chart will look behind the starter. [Read more 🡒]