by What do the early 2000s Miami Hurricanes, 2003-2005 USC Trojans, and 2010s Alabama Crimson Tide all have in common? Easy answer: they were dynasties. Perennial dynasties that took this century by storm. Dynasties that dominated and owned the sport, bolstered extraordinary runs, and seemed invincible in their prime.
The Georgia Bulldogs have entered the chat.
Back-to-back national titles, 41 drafted players since 2020 (11 first rounders), an annual top-3 recruiting class since 2017, and so on. Kirby Smart has transformed a traditionally good program into a great one. This isn’t a secret.
UGA not only has a cupcake schedule in 2023, where they should cruise to 12-0, but people are saying this team MAY be even better than last year’s. Woah.
However, this post isn’t about overhyping Smart or outlining how the Bulldogs can three-peat. No, I’m here to explain how a dynasty like Georgia can be shot down every once in a while. We saw it in 2003 when Ohio State upset The U in controversial fashion. We saw it at the 2005 Rose Bowl when Vince Young and the Horns took down USC in the greatest college game of all time. We saw it when Alabama met Clemson in 2016. So who can potentially dethrone Georgia in 2023?
For starters, I’m no film expert or analytics junkie that dives into crazy schematics and acts like they know more than the coaching personnel. That’s Colin Cowherd’s job. I’m just a casual fan like you. But what you really have to look at when pinpointing this Georgia team is how and where they’ve struggled in the recent past.
Look at UGA’s 2021 SEC title game loss to Bama and one-point semifinal win over Ohio State this past season. What did both of those opponents have in common? They were elite passing teams. Offenses that had the elite personnel built to air it out all game and force a shootout. It’s Georgia achilles heel.
And even though some of it was garbage time, LSU still hung 30 on the Bulldogs in the SEC Championship last December and racked up a ton of yards through the air. See a pattern here?
On the other hand, what does Georgia thrive against? Teams similar to them. Teams similar in terms of trying to going toe-to-toe and win the game in the trenches. Their beef against Georgia’s beef. And no one is successful going man-to-man against literal men like Jalen Carter and Jordan Davis for 60 minutes and trying to outplay Georgia physically. Life just doesn’t work that way. Just ask Michigan two years ago.
So if I had to bet two or three programs this season who have the best shot at knocking off UGA, it is in fact both Bama and Ohio State, as well as LSU. I’m not quite as high on the Tide because of their questionable quarterback situation, plus it’s hard to tell if they have a stud receiver, like a Julio Jones, Amari Cooper or DeVonta Smith, who can be an instant game changer. But Saban does play well against his former assistants and they still aren’t slacking in the recruiting department. Ohio State has by far the best receiving corps in the nation, a potent backfield, and a handful of other five stars that can match up well with UGA’s personnel. McCord may be no C.J. Stroud, but when you’re throwing to Marvin Harrison Jr. every Saturday you should be able to pan out. LSU is an interesting team, as they exceeded expectations in Brian Kelly’s first year at the helm and are going to be even better in Year 2. Jayden Daniels is a very good dual threat, they have good athletes at the skill positions, and a pretty stout defense. These are all recipes to knocking off “Goliath.”
The biggest threat on Georgia’s regular season schedule is Tennessee because 1) it’s in Knoxville, and 2) the Vols are arguably the next best team in the East. Tennessee was a great passing team last season, but they were too one-dimensional against Georgia and got out-coached. It may be close(ish), but I see the Vols taking a step back this season.
Georgia should go 12-0 in the regular season once again. Beating a Bama, OSU, or LSU-type beyond then is a mystery.