ATHENS — For some, the college football season begins this weekend. Notre Dame takes on Navy in Dublin, Ireland while USC and Heisman winner Caleb Williams take on San Jose State.

The No. 1 Georgia Bulldogs will have to wait a week to take the field against UT-Martin.

Expectations are high for the Bulldogs entering the 2023 season. Georgia has won back-to-back national championships and is aiming to be the first team since Minnesota in the 1930s to three-peat.

Georgia is the No. 1 ranked team in both polls and brings back a number of contributors from last season’s team. Brock Bowers and Sedrick Van Pran returning are a big reason many see Georgia as a potential playoff team in 2023.

But this team isn’t without its flat or doubters. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic sees another strong season for Georgia but he doesn’t see the Bulldogs winning it all. That belongs to Michigan, the other team to make the last two College Football Playoffs.

“I get that Georgia is still loaded, and people I trust inside that program believe their defense actually will be better this year, but I do think they’ll really miss Stetson Bennett’s wheels at some point this season. In a tough spot, I’ll say that’ll be the difference,” Feldman wrote.

Taking over for Bennett will be Carson Beck. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart named him the starter this past week. Beck doesn’t have the mobility that Bennett did — he ran for 10 touchdowns last season — but Smart praised the junior’s mastery of the offense.

Beck is in his fourth year at Georgia, though he’ll be making his first career start against UT-Martin.

“As hard as it was and as hard as it can be to be the backup but still prepare like you’re the starter, like you’re going to go out there, it’s something I tried to do week in and week out no matter the opponent,” Beck said. “My mental is already kind of set, so I know what that looks like to prepare as a starter even though I haven’t obviously started yet.”

Georgia did grab Beck some more weapons entering this season, as the Bulldogs brought in transfer wide receivers Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas. Lovett seems poised for a big season for the Bulldogs.

He led Missouri in receiving a season ago and seems poised to start for Georgia. Both The Athletic and ESPN identified Lovett as an impact transfer entering this season. Not just for Georgia but for college football as a whole.

While Georgia will start the season as the No. 1 team, some in the national media don’t see Georgia ending the season as that. In addition to Feldman, Chris Low and Alex Scarborough both have Georgia taking a loss this season. Only both writers see Georgia losing to Alabama in the SEC championship game

“Despite all the questions facing the Crimson Tide -- the quarterback, the offense under a new coordinator and the defense, which has slipped somewhat in recent years -- I think Nick Saban will find a way to beat LSU at home and make it back to Atlanta,” Scarborough wrote. “And if he does, I’m betting Alabama is more battle-tested than Georgia, whose schedule is mediocre at best.”

Georgia is 0-2 against Alabama in the SEC championship game, losing in 2018 and 2021. The Bulldogs did though get revenge the last time those two teams met, beating Alabama 33-18 in the national championship game.

The Bulldogs don’t play their first SEC game until Sept. 16 against South Carolina. Georgia’s toughest games are likely against Tennessee and Ole Miss, as those are the only two ranked SEC teams on Georgia’s schedule.