Skip to main content
georgia logo

Bill Connelly believes Georgia goes back-to-back as SEC champion

Palmber-Thombsby:Palmer Thombs•01/28/25•

palmerthombs

gunner stockton
Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton (14). (Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

Georgia won the SEC Championship in 2024 facing the toughest schedule in the country and overcoming their face share of adversity. The Bulldogs were forced to go on the road to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss after opening the season with Clemson. Tennessee came to Athens giving UGA games against five of the top 20 teams in the country across a 12-game regular season.

And while 2025 won’t have as many tests away from Sanford Stadium, Kirby Smart’s squad still will have to play the Crimson Tide, Longhorns, Rebels and Volunteers – plus much improved Florida and Auburn teams. It’s once again one of the toughest schedules in the country, but ESPN’s Bill Connelly believes the Bulldogs will once again be the one to hoist the conference crown on the first Saturday in December.

“Since Georgia’s initial breakthrough under Kirby Smart, the only teams that have won the SEC are either Georgia or a team coached by someone — either Nick Saban (Alabama) or Ed Orgeron (LSU) — who had beaten Smart’s Georgia in a previous season. With Saban retired and Orgeron in parts unknown, here’s a complete list of current SEC head coaches who have beaten Smart: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Lane Kiffin (Ole Miss) and, if we include those who beat Georgia during Smart’s shaky first season in 2016, Hugh Freeze (Auburn),” he wrote.

“Steve Sarkisian’s Texas is the highest-ranked SEC team in Schlabach’s Way-Too-Early list, but the Longhorns don’t meet qualifications. Of the four official SEC contenders, then — Georgia (No. 5 on Schlabach’s list), Alabama (No. 12), Ole Miss (No. 25) and Auburn (“teams also considered”) — it’s tempting to go with either the Rebels (because Kiffin’s squad finished 2024 No. 2 in SP+ and were so close to something so much greater) or the Crimson Tide (because it would be just like the Tide to storm back after being written off). But we’re going to keep things simple with this pick,” Connelly added before predicting Georgia as his champion of the SEC. “Like each of the other three contenders, the Dawgs will have a new starting quarterback in 2025, but on average the quarterback position seems to mean a bit less when Georgia is involved. The Dawgs threw for only 136 yards in the 2024 SEC championship game, after all, and still won. So Georgia grinds out Smart’s fourth SEC title.”

It’s an interesting deep dive and one that brings up several valid points on Georgia in 2025. Yes, UGA will be breaking in a new starting quarterback, but the Bulldogs have been more than competitive in the past without one of the elite signal callers in the sport. Instead, the direction of their head coach and the talent that will surround Gunner Stockton – or whoever wins the job – is enough in Connelly’s eyes.

Of course the SEC champion won’t be crowned simply based on the rule of “Kirby Smart of somebody that’s proven they can beat him.” Texas is capable, even if Steve Sarkisian hasn’t beaten Smart (going 0-2 against him in 2024). The Longhorns are the way-too-early top-ranked team according to On3 and will present Georgia with a test potentially twice within a month, playing November 15th in Athens and possibly December 6th in Atlanta.

Connelly’s projection of Georgia winning the SEC would put the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoffs for a fifth time since 2017 and a second straight season in the new 12-team format. Earning the No. 1 overall seed and a first round bye, he’s got Georgia over Michigan in the Sugar Bowl before the Bulldogs beat Alabama in the Peach Bowl semifinal. The National Championship projection at this point calls for a third straight champion from the Big Ten with Penn State topping UGA at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami January 19th.

You may also like