Georgia was the media’s pick to win the SEC at this year’s SEC media days. The Bulldogs placed a league-best six players make the Preseason All-SEC First Team.
The Bulldogs seem to be the favorites to win the league this year and have the talent to do so.
The one thing, at least in the eyes of ESPN’s Greg McElroy, that might give Georgia some trouble is its schedule.
“They play the hardest schedule in the country. I don’t care what anybody says,” McElroy said. “Having to go to Tuscaloosa, to Austin and to Oxford, Miss., not to mention a neutral site game against Florida who at times has played them really well even with sub-standard rosters compared to what Kirby has had since he’s been there. And Clemson, who might have a top 5 defense in the country with what they bring back.”
The Bulldogs open the 2024 season against Clemson on Aug. 31. In addition to an audacious SEC slate, the Bulldogs face a Clemson team that will have its eyes on the College Football Playoff as well.
Georgia isn’t all that worried about a tougher out-of-conference slate. Georgia opened the 2021 season against Clemson and that 10-3 win powered the Bulldogs to their first national championship under Kirby Smart.
“It’s competitive, and as a competitor I love it,” Georgia safety Malaki Starks said. “There’s nothing better than facing a good team. We’ve got a bunch of good teams on our schedule, they just happen to be one of them, so I’m excited to see what we can do.”
Georgia opened the 2022 season against Oregon in Atlanta, with the Bulldogs winning that game 49-3.
Georgia will hope that the opener against Clemson isn’t the only time this year that the Bulldogs play in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, as that is where the SEC championship game will be played.
The Bulldogs won’t be able to win the SEC East this season, as the division format is no longer in play with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma.
If Georgia is to play for an SEC championship, and a possible College Football Playoff bye, it will have to be one of the top two teams in the conference.
“Our guys embrace that,” Smart said. “As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that. So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder.
“We embrace that. We look forward to it. We are excited for the challenge to go to some really tough places.”
McElroy still believes in Georgia as a team this year, praising the overall talent, Carson Beck and Georgia’s wealth of pass catchers. The Bulldogs have won two of the previous three national championships and hasn’t lost a game in the previous three regular seasons.
With what Georgia has ahead of it in 2024, it would take a herculean effort for Georgia to get to the SEC championship game unblemished.
“I think the schedule is absolutely brutal,” McElroy said. “As long as they can stay healthy, they can get through it but they’re gonna have to be potentially comfortable with losing a game and that’s not something they’re very used to in the last couple of years.”
