The 2022 college football season looms just around the corner, and with it comes preseason polls and predictions. The Georgia Bulldogs are coming off a national championship season where they fielded one of the best defenses ever.
Despite that, media members picked Alabama, which Georgia just upended in the National Championship game, to win the SEC instead. The Crimson Tide are the preseason favorites to win the conference for the seventh year in a row. They have all the makings of an SEC champion, but so does Georgia.
The defending national champs lost a lot of talent in the offseason, but there's still no shortage of it in Athens. The Bulldogs pulled in the nation's third-best recruiting class, according to 247Sports, featuring five five-star players. The Georgia football program also retained star players such as tight end Brock Bowers and linebacker Nolan Smith.
The competition will be fierce but the Bulldogs have all the pieces to win the 2022 SEC Championship.
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Why Georgia Football Will Win 2022 SEC Championship
3. Favorable schedule
While other contenders such as Alabama, Texas A&M and Arkansas beat up on each other in the SEC West, Georgia gets the benefit of playing in the much weaker SEC East. Outside of the Bulldogs, the division features bottom-feeders such as Vanderbilt and Missouri and middling teams such as South Carolina and Florida. Tennessee and Kentucky may pose challenges, but Georgia football has the talent to convincingly beat them too.
Even Georgia's cross-divisional opponents are favorable. The Bulldogs matchup against Auburn and Mississippi State from the West, the two teams picked to finish at the bottom of the division. The Bulldogs far exceed their conference opponents in raw talent, and they should easily run the table.
2. Elite defense
Georgia's defense in 2021 was truly special. The Bulldogs allowed 9.5 points per game, becoming the first team to allow under 10 since Alabama in 2011. Nearly half of the defense became first-round selections in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Georgia's defense won't be as good as it was last year, but will still be one of the best in the country. Three Bulldogs landed on the All-SEC preseason team, Nolan Smith, defensive lineman Jalen Carter and cornerback Kelee Ringo. Add in safety Christopher Smith, who landed on the second team, and Georgia still has the foundation of a special defense.
The Bulldogs' new starters are more than ready to take the reins. Veterans such as defensive end Travel Walthour and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson showed great upside in reserve roles last season. If they can provide even half of the production of their predecessors, Georgia's defense will be among the country's best again.
1. Kirby Smart
Picking a coach over Nick Saban seems insane. However, if there's any active coach who can challenge him, it's Smart.
Smart has done nothing but win since arriving in Athens. The Bulldogs finished in the top 10 and made a New Year's Six bowl game each of the last five seasons. Some had doubts that Smart could lead the Bulldogs to a national title, but he proved them wrong by beating his former boss on the sport's biggest stage.
Smart is also an excellent recruiter. He's pulled in six straight top-five classes, with two number one classes in 2018 and 2020. In a time when talent is more consolidated to a few teams, Smart keeps Georgia as a premier destination.
Georgia recently rewarded Smart with a new contract that made him the highest-paid coach in college football. He'll be eager to prove the trust in him right, and winning an SEC title is the best way to start.
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