LOS ANGELES — The final moments of the 2022 season are ticking away, but already, the look ahead to the 2023 campaign is underway.

Coach Kirby Smart explained that in Georgia’s case, it is incidental but necessary, as he reflected back on the building of these 2022 Bulldogs.

“I really think a lot of the reason we were able to turn our roster over from last year to this year was the practices and preparation we had at this time of year,” said Smart, whose program looks to win a second-straight national championship when it plays TCU at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at SoFi Stadium.

“As we were finishing the year last year, we were getting really high-quality work out of about, I would say, seven or eight kids starting for us.”

It has been well-documented Georgia had plenty to replace, with an NFL Draft-record 15 players selected, along with another 13 that left the program via the transfer portal.

Many prognosticators believe the Bulldogs will be the best team in college football next year, too, as capable quarterbacks await the opportunity to replace Stetson Bennett.

Per the Action Sports Network, the 2023 preseason Top 10 .…

1. Georgia

2. Alabama

3. Michigan

4. Florida State

5. Ohio State

6. LSU

7. Penn State

8. Washington

9. Clemson

10. Oregon

The Bulldogs lose several key players, such as projected 2023 NFL Draft picks Jalen Carter, Broderick Jones, Kelee Ringo, Kenny McIntosh, Nolan Smith, Darnell Washington and Christoper Smith.

But as Smart noted on Sunday, the prep to replace those stars is already underway.

“The way we do our reps as the year goes, our 2s get a little more volume and our 1s get a little less knowing that the 2s need the work and might be up for call as you have injuries,” Smart said.

“So the guys that are playing now that were 2s last year, in some cases 3s, they got a lot of work.”

TCU coach Sonny Dykes has said there’s a cumulative to all of the bowl practices afford by being a part of the four-team CFP.

“If you’re a senior team and if you’re a senior player and you’ve been in a practice that has consistently been to bowl games, and particularly New Year’s Day bowl games, or bowl games that occur later during the bowl game cycle, you look up and you go, okay, it’s 15 practices for four years,” Dykes said. “That’s 60 practices. Okay. Well, that’s four years of an additional spring training And that’s a big deal. That’s a really big deal.”

Smart, who has led Georgia to six consecutive Top 10 finishes and New Year’s Six Bowls -- including three playoff appearances -- agrees with that concept.

“Coach Dykes is right …. and our kids have had a lot of practices,” Smart said. “We target a lot of days for our kids to (work); the 1s go condition, and the 2s and 3s go get opportunity.

“They literally go against each other and just play football, and I think that does help in terms of getting your team prepared.”

Smart had summed up that point during his appearance at the CFP Media Day on Saturday at the Los Angeles Convention Center, too.

“We’re not here because we were here last year, but .... the practices and the preparation last year leading up to that game, the amount of time we worked our 2s and 3s and we dedicated ourselves to getting those guys better, that probably put us over the edge in one or two games this year,” Smart said. “The work those guys got maybe that won us a game, and that one game got us to where we are.”

Smart said he wanted to make sure the Bulldogs were “growing” their players while preparing for the CFP Championship Game this week, too.

“Because there’s a bunch of guys on our roster that, I’m like, man, we’ve got 12, we’ve got a bunch of mid-years that are practicing with us,” He said. “Last year that was Mykel (Williams), that was Jalon Walker -- these guys that are contributing.

“So I love the extra practice we’re getting, the work we’re getting for the development of the team.”