Despite coming out on top of two of the last four College Football Playoffs, Georgia enters the 2025 season in a different position. After flaming out in the 2024 quarterfinals, Kirby Smart's team will begin the new year ranked No. 5 in the preseason college football rankings.
Although still considered a preseason favorite to win another national championship, Georgia is a much less experienced team than it has been in recent years. The Bulldogs lost the majority of their 2024 SEC Championship-winning team to either the NFL Draft or the transfer portal. Most notably, star quarterback Carson Beck left the team at the end of the season and committed to Miami from the portal.
Smart opted not to replace Beck externally and instead simply promoted backup Gunner Stockton. The junior dual-threat quarterback has spent the last two seasons working behind Beck and started in the Sugar Bowl, which resulted in a loss to Notre Dame. Stockton is not a big-name star, but has been with the program for years.
After beginning the last two seasons ranked No. 1 in the preseason college football rankings, Georgia entering 2025 at No. 5 is a marginal step back. They start the year with the second-best odds to win the SEC, behind top-ranked Texas. Regardless, the Bulldogs are still expected to return to the College Football Playoffs.
Smart's team has made the championship tournament in three of the last four seasons. Had the expanded 12-team format been active since the playoffs' inception, Georgia would have made the cut in each of the last eight seasons.
Georgia will begin the 2025 college football season ranked No. 5, but it is not the fifth-best team in the country. The Bulldogs might still sneak into the College Football Playoffs, but they will not end the season in the top five for three key reasons.
Georgia lacks experience
Georgia brings back some returning players, but this is not the same experienced unit that has dominated college football for the last four years. The Bulldogs return just six offensive and defensive starters, not including Stockton.
Georgia did not just lose starters; it lost significant contributors from its 11-3 team. The Bulldogs had 13 players from their 2024 team selected in the 2025 NFL Draft. That does not include Beck, who entered the year in the conversation as a potential No. 1 pick.
The Bulldogs typically have several players taken in the draft, but their 13 representatives were the second-most in program history. Georgia experienced similar turnover in 2023, when it repeated as national champions, but Kirby Smart did not bring in the same level of recruiting class to compensate for the losses.
Smart only recruited four transfers — receivers Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas, defensive end Elo Modozie and safety Jaden Harris — projected to begin the year in the starting lineup. The rest of the starting lineup includes former backups who are stepping into larger roles.
The offensive line will be the biggest concern to begin the year. With just one returning starter, Georgia's blocking unit is by far its most inexperienced position group. Drew Bobo, Micah Morris and Monroe Freeling all joined the first-team offense after starting a handful of games in 2024, but none were consistently in the starting lineup. True freshman Juan Gaston is projected to start at right guard.
Considering how poorly Georgia's offensive line performed at times in 2024, beginning the year with an inexperienced unit is concerning, particularly with a new starting quarterback calling the shots. It might not pose an issue through the first two weeks, but it could be a problem in Week 3 against Tennessee.
Georgia underutilized 2025 college football transfer portal
Georgia has not typically had to rely on the college football transfer portal often, but it was a tool it should have utilized more in the 2025 offseason. Kirby Smart typically boasts a deep roster that is capable of adapting to any situation, but the Bulldogs are not as diverse this season.
Smart managed to attract three key transfers — Branch, Thomas and Modozie. Branch and Modozie were arguably the best players available at their respective positions, but they do not arrive without questions. Georgia expects Branch to lead its 2025 receiving corps, a player who has just 823 career receiving yards in two years.
The rest of Georgia's transfer class lacked name value, making it a top-heavy group. Given the volume of players that left the team, Smart would have liked to have received a few more coveted commitments.
In addition to Beck, the Bulldogs also lost Nitro Tuggle, Branson Robinson, Michael Jackson Jr., Damon Wilson II and Jamaal Jarrett. The losses were feasibly more substantial than the players Smart brought in. Tuggle's loss was particularly painful, as Georgia had expected him to play a key role in 2025.
Georgia's transfer class was not great, but Smart hauled in another elite freshman recruiting class. The Bulldogs brought in eight top-100 recruits, giving them the second-best recruiting class of the year, according to 247 Sports.
Although the class is promising, none of the freshman commits are expected to make an immediate impact. Georgia lists just one true freshman as a starter on its Week 1 depth chart. Only four others are listed as second-stringers. Smart historically leans on his veterans, but that appears especially true in 2025.
Georgia is consistently in the mix for top transfers on the market, and they secured a few once again. It just felt like, given the dramatic turnover, Smart should have been more aggressive in 2025. As a result, the roster lacks the same star power it has had in previous years.
Tough end-of-season schedule
Even with the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff bracket, nothing is more important than winning at the end of the season. It is no secret that games carry more weight at the end of the year, particularly to the selection committee.
Georgia does not face a murderer's row down the stretch, but it will have three tough matchups in its final five games. The Bulldogs face Florida, Texas and Georgia Tech in November, with soft matchups against Mississippi State and Charlotte mixed in. However, they will face Florida and Georgia Tech at neutral sites, forcing them to travel nearly every week.
Georgia's schedule as a whole is lenient, but the late-season stretch is one of the most challenging in the SEC. Even if they survive that five-week period, they will need to immediately turn around for the SEC Championship Game in the first week of December. Even just one loss in that period could push them out of the top five.
Barring any wild upsets, Georgia will begin the year 2-0 entering its Week 3 matchup with Tennessee. They only have three official road games all year and get to host Alabama and Texas after playing both teams on the road in 2024. As far as an SEC schedule goes, the Bulldogs drew a fortunate hand, but the bulk of their strenuous matchups will come late in the year.
Depending on how the year goes, Kirby Smart's team could still be favored in every game. Georgia has still not beaten Alabama in the regular season since 2007 and faces improved Florida and Georgia Tech teams at the end of the year. They need to win every game impressively to live up to their No. 5 placement in the preseason college football rankings.
