LOS ANGELES — The expectation around Georgia these days is national championship or bust. That hasn’t changed as members of the back-to-back title teams embark to the NFL.
“C’mon, they’re going to win the natty (national title), baby,” former Bulldogs running back and current Las Vegas Raider Zamir White told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Last year, they cheated us (laughs). But it’s all good. This year, we’re going to get it done for sure.”
The Bulldogs enter the season among the betting favorites to earn their third championship in four years. Generally, only Ohio State and perhaps Oregon – both Big Ten programs – are considered to have rosters comparable to Georgia’s.
There isn’t a clear path to the College Football Playoff, though. Georgia has one of the more daunting schedules in the country, one that features road games against Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. The Bulldogs also face Clemson (at noon Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in the season opener), Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida and Georgia Tech, which is fresh off an upset of No. 10 Florida State. If the team wins the SEC, it certainly will have earned it.
“Natty, nothing less,” former Bulldogs receiver Ladd McConkey, now with the Los Angeles Chargers, told the AJC when asked for his Georgia prediction. “We’re getting to the playoffs and winning it all.”
The Bulldogs lost players such as McConkey and all-world tight end Brock Bowers, but they’re returning a plethora of future NFL players, too, including quarterback Carson Beck. And with former Alabama coach Nick Saban retired, everyone deems Georgia as college football’s undisputed top power.
If Georgia wins another title, it’ll have taken the longest path yet to the mountaintop. The CFP field has expanded to 12 teams, meaning even if Georgia secures a first-round bye, it has to win three games (instead of the previous two) to stand alone, with four wins necessary without a bye.
“I want us to win the national championship,” Raiders safety Chris Smith II said. “That’s the only prediction I have for us. That’s the expectation that we have at that school. I know I’m not saying anything they don’t expect themselves. So I’m going to say national championship.”
Of course, not every Bulldogs product was quick to declare Georgia as the title favorite.
“I’m still (coach) Kirby Smart true and true, and we take care of the day-to-day and that’s why we are where we are,” said quarterback Stetson Bennett IV, who started for the two championship winners. “But I’m excited to watch it. My money is always on Georgia – not that I bet. Figure of speech.”
