Georgia has gone 42-2 over the previous three seasons. It won two national championships in that time and the only losses have come against now-retired Nick Saban.

The Bulldogs have done all of that despite putting more players into the NFL draft in the last three seasons, 33, than any other school.

The consistent success earned the Georgia program some high praise from ESPN’s Bill Connelly, as he looked at Georgia as part of a league-wide preview for ESPN.

“You can’t win ‘em all, but Georgia wins most of ‘em,” Connelly said. “Since 2017, Kirby Smart’s Dawgs are 86-11, averaging an SP+ ranking of 3.4. Over the past three years, they’re a staggering 42-2. Average ranking: 1.3. With Nick Saban retired, it means the last time Smart lost to a head coach who is currently active was five and a half years ago, against Tom Herman’s Texas in the Sugar Bowl.”

Even in a more beefed-up SEC — thanks to the additions of Texas and Oklahoma — the Bulldogs are plenty equipped to handle the 2024 season. Georgia has signed a top-four recruiting class in every cycle dating back to 2017 and the Bulldogs mined the transfer portal this past cycle to bring in skill players like running back Trevor Etienne, wide receiver Colbie Young and tight end Benjamin Yurosek.

Georgia will need all hands on deck this season, as the Bulldogs have the No. 5 strength of schedule. Even with the audacious schedule, Connelly’s analytics give Georgia a 78 percent of winning 10 games. That’s the best mark in the conference.

That is with road trips to Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss, who are top 10 teams in the S&P+ rankings to start the season.

“They’re almost certainly good enough to win two of the three, at least, but you could have an awfully good team and still go 0-3 at Bama, Texas and Ole Miss,” Connelly wrote.

If there is one one-field concern with the Bulldogs, it comes in the secondary. Georgia does have to replace starters Kamari Lassiter, Tykee Smith and Javon Bullard from last season.

And with the Bulldogs opening up against Clemson, a new-look group of defensive backs will have to grow up fast.

“We got some good young players in the secondary,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said at SEC media days. “It’s going to be really important they grow up fast. They are going to go against a really high-tempo offense in Clemson to start. Our job is to prepare them. Get to go against a really good offense day in and day out with Carson Beck, so I’m excited about the guys we have in that room.”

In addition to a brutal SEC slate, Georgia opens the season against Clemson and ends it against Georgia Tech. If there’s a team out there that can handle, and potentially thrive, against one of the nation’s toughest schedules, it could very well be this Georgia program.

One that has proven it can win big year-in and year-out, no matter who it has to replace or play.