Georgia starts the season as No. 1, and anything less than winning a third national title in four years will be seen as a letdown.
Pressure? Not really.
Coach Kirby Smart has created a program that focuses on the present, not on big-picture concerns like championships and legacies. He learned this approach from his mentor, longtime Alabama coach Nick Saban.
“I’ve honestly never paid any attention to it, and we don’t talk about it as a team,” said Smart, the highest-paid coach in college football with a $13 million annual salary after signing an extension. “The expectation is we’re going to develop and worry about today’s day.”
The Bulldogs won back-to-back national titles in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but fell short last year with a loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Conference championship, ending a 29-game winning streak and missing out on the four-team playoff.
They bounced back by demolishing a weaker Florida State team, winning 63-3 in the Orange Bowl, and are clearly No. 1 heading into 2024.
The playoff expands to 12 teams this season. Despite a tough schedule, it seems certain Georgia will be in the postseason mix.
With Saban retired at Alabama, it’s clear who the top team in college football is. Smart has built a program at Georgia that mirrors the success of Saban’s Crimson Tide.
But that’s for others to discuss.
“We still have the same standards that we’ve had here at Georgia for a long time,” senior defensive back Dan Jackson said. “We’re focused on this year, and right now.”
