SEC Snapshot: Georgia Bulldogs

Spring practices have ended. The transfer portal has slowed to a crawl. We are entering Summer Radio SZN. As such, let’s get our minds right for the upcoming college football season by taking a 10,000-foot view of every SEC football team.

Kirby Smart turned Georgia into the class of college football with dominant defenses. This year, that formula may have to change to stay at the top of the SEC.

SEC Snapshot: Texas, Oklahoma, Florida, Tennessee

Preseason Rankings

SP+: 4
Returning Production: 105
Andy Staples: 8
ESPN: 4

Who’s the Quarterback?

Carson Beck was a Heisman Trophy frontrunner ahead of the 2024 season who failed to live up to those lofty expectations. You can play the blame game and fault offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, poor wide receiver play, or just flat-out inconsistency from Beck.

Beck showed enough flashes of greatness for some Georgia fans to believe he could lead them on a deep CFP run. On the final prayer before halftime of the SEC Championship Game, he suffered a season-ending elbow injury.

The reins of the offense were passed off to Gunner Stockton, a former Top 200 prospect who added a running element to the position. In a limited role, he did enough to help the Dawgs secure an SEC Championship in overtime. In the CFP against Notre Dame, he completed 20-32 passes for 234 yards and a touchdown. Even though it has not yet been announced, Stockton is the presumed starter until Jared Curtis, the No. 2 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class, arrives on campus.

Main Storyline: Major Talent Upgrades at Wide Receiver

When you think of the best Georgia offensive weapons, you think of elite running backs. That wasn’t necessarily the case when Ladd McConkey and Brock Bowers helped the Dawgs rattle off consecutive National Championships. Life after Bowers was not kind to Georgia last fall.

Georgia needed no-doubt playmakers in the transfer portal and they got just that. Zachariah Branch was a day one jaw-dropper as soon as he started playing for USC. He’s an electric return man with breakaway speed who could provide the most explosive plays we see in the SEC this fall. They also acquired a big target for Stockton on the outside. Noah Thomas is a 6-foot-6 pass-catcher who tied for the second-most touchdown receptions in the SEC last year (8) at Texas A&M.

Not every portal wide receiver has lived up to the hype at Georgia, most notably London Humphreys and Dominick Blaylock. Mike Bobo will feel the heat from Georgia fans if this year’s two portal talents do not become stars in Athens.

Biggest Question: Can Georgia continue to dominate in the trenches?

If Georgia running backs aren’t running over your team, their pass rushers are terrorizing your quarterback. Travon Walker, Jordan Davis, and Jalen Carter were a Murderer’s Row on title teams. Mykel Williams and Jalon Walker were top 15 picks in this year’s NFL Draft.

The defensive line well might finally run dry for Kirby Smart. Of course, Georgia signed the No. 1 defensive tackle in the country, Elijah Griffin, but the Dawgs will be rolling out a young, unproven defensive line this fall. They will be relying on Elo Modozie, an Army transfer, to provide some pass-rushing juice. Without bonafide future NFL players lining the front line, the Georgia defense will not have the same teeth we’re accustomed to seeing in Athens.

Georgia Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location
Aug 30, 2025	Marshall	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Sep 6, 2025	Austin Peay	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Sep 13, 2025	at Tennessee	Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, TN
Sep 20, 2025	Bye Week	—
Sep 27, 2025	Alabama	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Oct 4, 2025	Kentucky	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Oct 11, 2025	at Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
Oct 18, 2025	Ole Miss	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Oct 25, 2025	Bye Week	—
Nov 1, 2025	Florida	EverBank Stadium, Jacksonville, FL (Neutral)
Nov 8, 2025	at Mississippi State	Davis Wade Stadium, Starkville, MS
Nov 15, 2025	Texas	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Nov 22, 2025	Charlotte	Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
Nov 28, 2025 (Fri)	at Georgia Tech	Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, GA

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