Paul Finebaum says Georgia replaced Alabama as ‘safe’ pick for national championship

Georgia’s placement within the field of the College Football Playoff has become a fair assumption heading into this season. That’s because, according to Paul Finebaum, they’ve taken the top spot as far as being a safe pick to make it to and win the national championship.

Finebaum addressed the notion around Georgia these days with ‘McElroy and Cubelic In The Morning’ from SEC Media Days in Nashville on Tuesday. He said their ascension is similar to what Alabama used to create amongst prognosticators. Until they prove otherwise, he says their spot at the top means that they have earned the benefit of the doubt.

“I think that’s what happens when you’re in that number one spot and trending,” Finebaum said.

“It was like that with ‘Bama,” continued Finebaum. “There were some years where I said Alabama was going to win it all and I had no idea why. But making that statement had been very good to me.”

If you’re a betting person, Georgia is about as safe a bet as there is in sports at the moment. Winning 29 of your previous 30 games and winning three championships, two being of the national variety, will do that for you. From there, the Bulldog’s upcoming schedule only improves their odds considering how straightforward it appears to be.

A third-straight national title is unheard of in the modern era of college football which, to play devil’s advocate, would be a reason to shy away from UGA. Even so, Finebaum says we’ll all have to see the Bulldogs falter for ourselves before we can assume that they’re going to this season.

Smart on avoiding complacency: ‘We expect to be good at’ UGA

With back-to-back championships under its belt, success is the standard at Georgia. Head coach Kirby Smart will accept nothing less.

“We expect to be good at the University of Georgia, we want sustained success,” Smart said at SEC Media Days. “We have to do that by winning every day. And that’s not going to change whether we win (the championship) or not this year.”

“All we’re thinking about is the next 24 hours. Like, how can we get better in the next 24 hours? I’m not sitting here thinking of some motivating factor. People are like, ‘What are you going to tell your team this year? You gonna tell them people are saying you’re gonna be 7-5?’ No, I’ve never said that,” Smart said.

It’s safe to assume Georgia won’t be 7-5 no matter what strategies Smart employs. Per ESPN, Georgia will bring back 52% of its offense this season and 70% of its defense. The Bulldogs should be as dangerous as ever in the 2023 season and Smart will ensure that.

“There’s a lot of things we can do better. We can play much better pass defense later in the season. We can grow as a team. Better our special teams assets. This is like a constant improvement for us,” Smart said.