ATLANTA — Georgia football coach Kirby Smart can hear the footsteps for the first time in awhile.
If there was ever a chance for the Florida Gators to catch their SEC rival, this could be it after losing four straight and seven of eight in the longstanding series.
The Bulldogs are vulnerable, if not eminently beatable, while the Gators, winners of four straight to end 2024, are on the upswing behind sophomore star quarterback DJ Lagway, one of eight returning starters on offense.
Smart’s squad is young, rebuilding both lines and breaking in a new starting quarterback, redshirt junior Gunner Stockton.
En route to their first three-loss season since 2018, the 2024 Bulldogs failed to execute their hard-nosed brand of football.
Smart’s vaunted defense finished eighth in the SEC after ranking first four of the previous five seasons, and second in 2023 to Alabama. An even larger concern was a run game 15th of 16 conference teams, with an average of just 124.4 yards, 50 yards fewer than any Georgia team since Smart’s 2016 arrival.
“That’s not Georgia,” ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers told the Orlando Sentinel on Tuesday.
Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
Georgia coach Kirby Smart holds the national championship trophy after the Bulldogs defeated Alabama 33-18 in the College Football Playoff title game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Jan. 10, 2022. (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images file)
Yet, the Bulldogs still won the SEC Championship game, beating SEC newcomer Texas for the second time in 2024. Georgia followed the performance, however, with 23-10 dud against Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals.
Positioned to supplant Nick Saban as the king of SEC coaches and poised to achieve the first to three-peat since Minnesota in 1934-36, Smart enters his 10th season at crossroads with a fledgling…
Source link : https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/07/15/georgia-bulldogs-football-kirby-smart-sec-media-days-gunner-stockton/
Author :
Publish date : 2025-07-16 00:44:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
