While eight of the top 12 teams in college football battle it out this weekend in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Kirby Smart and Georgia are sitting at home, taking advantage of their first round bye and preparing for the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal on New Year's Day. Georgia will take one either No. 7-seed Notre Dame or No. 10 Indiana run New Orleans.

While the Bulldogs aren't on the field this weekend, that doesn't mean that they aren't at the front of fans' minds. During College GameDay before the in-state clash between Notre Dame and Indiana, fans of both the Fighting Irish and the Hoosiers were chanting “We Want Georgia” while Smart was being interviewed remotely.

The Georgia head coach was not bothered by the trash talk.

“Well, they've gotta worry about their first game first, that's for sure,” Smart said. “We've gotta worry about ourselves, that's the primary thing we've gotta do. We've gotta get better ourselves. We've been working really hard. Our kids have had a great attitude about practice, and I've been excited about it.”

Georgia will need the extra time to prepare as it gets ready to go to battle without starting quarterback Carson Beck, who is still recovering from an elbow injury that he suffered during the first half of the SEC Championship against Texas. Despite that, Georgia is riding high after taking home the trophy in Atlanta and getting more than three weeks off before its first playoff game.

Pressure is on Gunner Stockton replacing Carson Beck for Georgia

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For at least one of these games in the College Football Playoff (and maybe more), the weight of the college football world will rest on the shoulders of inexperienced quarterback Gunner Stockton. Stockton is in line to start for Georgia in the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in place of the injured Carson Beck.

Stockton played a half (plus an overtime period) in the SEC Championship Game against Texas and looked sound and comfortable for the most part, save for one ugly interception in the fourth quarter. For the game, Stockton finished 12-for-16 with 71 yards and the aforementioned turnover while rushing for eight yards.

Georgia may not need Stockton to be Superman in a potential playoff game against either Notre Dame or Indiana. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs can lean on their running game with Trevor Etienne and their elite defense. Georgia will certainly have the advantage of the crowd down in SEC country in New Orleans, so it can use that to its advantage.

Stockton also brings a level of athleticism that Beck doesn't necessarily have and will open up the opportunity of the quarterback run game. This Georgia football team can turn that into a more clock-control offense and control the ball, leaning on the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball as it chases a championship.