Count former Bulldogs offensive coordinator Todd Monken among those betting Georgia meets and exceeds expectations as it pursues a three-peat in 2023.
There will be some key differences from the past two championship-winning teams, namely at offensive coordinator and quarterback. Monken, who blossomed as Georgia’s offensive orchestrator, left for the same job with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Mike Bobo, who was on staff as an analyst, replaced him. Quarterback Carson Beck follows starter Stetson Bennett IV after years of patience.
Yet still, Georgia is the preseason No. 1. Its talent and schedule could make for a relatively unopposed run back to the SEC Championship game in December.
“They’re going to be tremendous,” Monken told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “They’ve got really good players. Carson has waited his turn, so it’s not as if this is a new quarterback or a freshman. You’ve got experience in the O-line, which matters most. You have an elite tight end (Brock Bowers). You’ve got some really good wideouts. You should be great on defense again – you’re always going to be great on defense because of the coach (Kirby Smart) and staff. So they’re going to be fun to watch.”
Georgia, which opens its season Saturday against Tennessee-Martin, is trying to become the first back-to-back-to-back FBS-equivalent champion since Minnesota achieved the feat in 1936. The latest team to come within striking distance of three consecutive titles was Alabama, which won in 2011 and 2012 but came up short in 2013 after Auburn’s “Kick Six” spoiled its season. Smart was the defensive coordinator for those Crimson Tide teams.
“The tough part now is just worry about the next game,” Monken said. “Because we went through where we won one after we hadn’t in 40 years. Then they said, ‘Well, you can’t win it back to back.’ Now it’s like, ‘Oh (expletive).’ But they should have a great year, be fun to watch because Coach won’t allow it to be any other way. That’s the biggest thing is it starts at the top. But that’s a fact. That’s the way it is, everybody knows it. I was just a piece of it.”
Credit: Sarah K. Spencer/AJC
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