2024 Georgia football predictions: Ranked No. 2 by RJ Young

chonprasit

College Football

Updated Aug. 12, 2024 10:17 a.m. ET

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RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Georgia Bulldogs ranking: 2/134

[Check out RJ Young’s ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 1st in SEC (+190 to win conference)

Teams ahead of them: Ohio State (1)

Teams behind them: Texas (3), Oregon (4), Florida State (5), Ole Miss (6), LSU (7)

[Georgia 2024 schedule]

RJ’s take: You’d have to forgive Kirby Smart if he pulled up to Mercedes-Benz against Clemson in the No. 26 Wonderbread Chevy, stepped out of the Cup car saying, “Here’s the deal: I’m the best there is. I wake up every morning, and I piss excellence.” Because that ain’t the tall tale even the most cynical Florida fan wants it to be.

Smart has won two national titles and lost just three games in three years. He’s got depth up and down the two-deep, and there is no Nick Saban to stop Athens’ siege on Alabama any longer.

Georgia is loaded with veterans and 14 starters return from last year’s squad, including presumptive Heisman favorite. Carson Beck, who led the SEC in passing last year. But the Bulldogs are gonna have to earn it this year with just three conference home games. They’ll face Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss on the road. Linebacker Smael Mondon is the most talented inside linebacker in the country and has a chance to give UGA its second Butkus Award winner in four years. Safety KJ Bolden is the most exciting true freshman addition to the SEC behind Ellis Robinson IV, who might be the most talented freshman corner UGA has had since Kelee Ringo.

If there is a weakness on the UGA team, it’s at a position that has been marked a strength in the Smart era: defensive tackle. Nazir Stackhouse is UGA’s best interior defender. He started every game for the Dawgs last year, but he notched just two sacks in 2023 and was All-SEC Second Team. Next best on the list is Warren Brinson, who posted just two sacks in 13 games last year, and they came against Birmingham-Alabama and Vanderbilt.

Georgia’s Win Total Odds: Over 10.5 (-125) Under 10.5 (+105)

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