Kirby Smart hopes a new Georgia team can get back to its championship ways

ATHENS — Georgia’s most recent game, a January loss to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff, still lingers in the mind of Georgia coach Kirby Smart.

“Nightmare,” Smart said of the stretch of game where Georgia saw a 6-3 score swell to an insurmountable 20-3 deficit because of a fumble just before halftime and a kickoff return for a touchdown coming out of it.

The 23-10 loss that ended Georgia’s 2024 season left a bad taste in the mouth of the SEC champions, sullying an 11-3 season.

Georgia finally will be able to wash out the stench from last season when the Bulldogs take the field against Marshall on Aug. 30 in Sanford Stadium.

It’s a game Georgia has long been waiting for, as the Bulldogs will be a very different team in 2025 than the one that ended last season.

Georgia opens the season as the No. 5 team in the AP poll, even after having to replace 13 NFL draft picks from a season ago. The lofty ranking is a bet on Georgia’s culture as much as anything. Even if Smart has gone to great lengths this offseason to make some tweaks to that culture.

The new phrase to know when it comes to Georgia in 2025 is fire, passion and energy.

“There was something missing, and we felt like maybe that was what was missing,” Smart said. “Maybe that’s missing all over college football, or not all over, but just in pockets. And if you don’t have that, then you may not have success. So we wanted to reward it, talk about it, and make it a DNA trait.”

Georgia will be a younger and less proven team in 2025. The glass-half-full view is that a hungrier Georgia will elevate itself from a team that made the College Football Playoff and won the SEC, to one that can win another national championship.

New team or not, those are the expectations Smart sets for the Georgia team.

Gunner Stockton can give Georgia more at QB

Smart hasn’t felt the need to publicly name a starting quarterback. But it’s abundantly clear Gunner Stockton is ready to take up the job full-time.

Stockton first tasted life as the starting quarterback in the loss to Notre Dame. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 232 yards and a touchdown. Georgia scored only 10 points in the performance, which was more because of the flaws of the offense than the play of Stockton specifically.

Georgia knows it must be better around Stockton this season, which is why Smart has put such an emphasis on running the ball. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who returns despite erroneous reports of his potential retirement, has a tall task in front of him in 2025.

Having a player such as Stockton, who is a more willing runner than former quarterback Carson Beck, is expected to help in that regard.

“We have a quarterback who allows us to do more,” Smart said.

Most of Stockton’s first-team reps came against Texas and Notre Dame, teams that made it to the College Football Playoff semifinals last season.

Against lesser defenses, Stockton will have the chance to show he’s much more than those previous two performances.

New faces, same coaches for Georgia football

Georgia made it a point this offseason to add more help around Stockton. It added wide receivers Noah Thomas and Zachariah Branch via the transfer portal, while also bringing in bruising Illinois running back Josh McCray.

Thomas and Branch drew rave reviews during preseason camp for how quickly they’ve acclimated to Georgia. Thomas gives the Bulldogs a big-bodied wide receiver on the outside, while Branch’s speed should stretch the field and make a difference on special teams.

Defensively, outside linebacker Elo Modozie could help a pass rush that must replace 29 of the 37 sacks it had last season. Alabama-Birmingham transfer Adrian Maddox was one of three transfer safeties Georgia added, with Maddox likely starting alongside potential All-American KJ Bolden.

Georgia welcomes another star-studded recruiting class to campus, as the Bulldogs signed the No. 2 overall recruiting class. Defensive tackle Elijah Griffin and offensive lineman Juan Gaston are in position to play major roles from the start, while wide receiver Talyn Taylor, running back Bo Walker and defensive linemen JJ Hanne also are expected to contribute.

The Bulldogs have 40 new players on the roster, a mixture of 10 transfers and 30 freshmen. Georgia does return its entire on-field coaching staff, despite grumblings last season about Bobo and offensive line coach Stacy Searels. The mix of coaching continuity and new talent should position Georgia well against what will once again be a difficult schedule

Greatest home schedule of all-time?

Smart spent much of last season talking about how difficult it is to win on the road in the SEC.

This year, those tricky road games all will be played in Athens.

Alabama returns to Athens for the first time since 2015, with the game set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff Sept. 27. Despite coaching seven games against Alabama as Georgia’s head coach, this will be the first time Smart faces Alabama in Athens.

Georgia did beat Texas — the preseason pick to win the SEC in 2025 — twice last season. Neither game was played in Athens. When Texas visits on Nov. 15, it will be the first time the Longhorns have played at Sanford Stadium in program history.