Expanding from four to 12 teams in the College Football Playoff is a major breakthrough for those who want a true national championship to come from the football field. Affect or benefit the Georgia Bulldogs?
With five power conferences (and other possible candidates in the Group of Five), there were always teams left on the outside. Choosing TCU over Alabama two years ago meant that a legitimate national contender was left out, despite TCU’s unbeaten regular-season record.
Leaving Georgia and Florida State out last year ruined the rewards of a perfect season that resulted in an ACC championship, and also meant that a close loss in the SEC Championship kept another legitimate contender out of the national semifinals.
The new format will give the top four ranked conference champions byes through the first round of the playoffs, with the next eight highest ranked teams taking slots five through 12.
Georgia responded to their exclusion from last year’s College Football Playoff with a 63-3 shellacking of the Florida State Seminoles. Will they make it three national championships in four seasons now? Read on to get our thoughts as you plan your online betting for the college football campaign.
College Football Betting Odds: Is Georgia Going to Win the 2024 Football National Championship?
At this point in the off-season, Georgia (+300) is the favorite to win it all. Ohio State (+440) is the next-best betting choice. The next two betting choices from the SEC are Texas (+800) and Alabama (+1400).
Now that the SEC has gotten rid of its two-division structure, and the two teams with the best conference records will play for the conference title, the Bulldogs don’t have quite as easy a route to a conference title as they used to, but the expanded playoff means that they actually have a better shot at a CFP slot, even if they lose a game along the way.
Let’s look at the Georgia schedule as well as some other thoughts on the upcoming season.
- August 31 vs Clemson Tigers (in Atlanta)
- September 7 vs Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles
- Sept 14 at Kentucky Wildcats*
- Sept 21 IDLE
- Sept 28 at Alabama Crimson Tide*
- October 5 vs Auburn Tigers*
- Oct 12 vs Mississippi State Bulldogs*
- Oct 19 at Texas Longhorns*
- Oct 26 IDLE
- November 2 vs Florida Gators*
- Nov 9 at Ole Miss Rebels*
- Nov 16 vs Tennessee Volunteers*
- Nov 23 vs UMass Minutemen
- Nov 29 vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
As far as the schedule goes, three big dates stand out: at Alabama, at Texas, and at Ole Miss. Alabama has a new head coach in Kalen DeBoer after the retirement of Nick Saban, but DeBoer isn’t a newcomer to elite football, as he led Washington to the national championship game last season.
The Texas Longhorns won the Big 12 and got to the CFP despite losing to Oklahoma during the regular season before losing to Washington.
Ole Miss Rebels
Ole Miss is no longer a pushover in the SEC now that Lane Kiffin has re-energized the program, and the Rebels would love to move past LSU and Alabama, at least, in the SEC power rankings. Those are three tough road games, a far cry from the fairly easy path Georgia has had to the SEC East title in recent years.
According to Will Backus of CBS, the Georgia Bulldogs will make it four straight seasons without losing a regular-season game. It does help that having quarterback Carson Beck, safety Malaki Starks and defensive Mykel Wiliams are back for another season.
Those are just the top names, too – the Bulldogs have a roster that is not only full of talent across the top two levels of the depth chart, but it is also deeper than most of their rivals.
Beck’s Return
On offense, the return of Beck at a time when so many other quarterbacks either used the transfer portal to find a new college or declared for the NFL draft gave the Bulldogs a huge edge on the rest of college football. Beck had one of the best passing seasons in Georgia history in 2023, and he has a ton of weapons around him in 2024.
One of Beck’s best weapons will likely be senior slot receiver Dominic Lovett, who had a monster spring. Arian Smith returns for a fifth season and has the speed to burn quite a few cornerbacks down the field this season.
Colbie Young
Young transferred in from Miami (FL) and also showed great hands and elite speed. Trevor Etienne transferred in from Florida at tailback, giving the Bulldogs the dangerous running back they didn’t have last year.
The offensive line has four starters back, as well as two other players who were on the field for significant minutes. Having that consistency will be important, particularly when Georgia has tough games to play in road environments.
Road games against other contenders get even tougher when you don’t have seasoned players on your roster.
Georgia Bulldogs Defense
On defense, Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse are the building blocks, and they’re back with all kinds of experience. There are other players who got some exposure in 2023 that will also contribute heavily in 2024 on this side of the ball.
Mykel Williams is moving from the D-line to an outside linebacker role as he enters his third season with the Bulldogs, but among the front seven, he has the most talent.
Smael Mondon Jr is back at inside linebacker for his senior campaign, and C.J. Allen, Jalon Walker and Raylen Wilson will join him. In 2023, those three had to start contributing in a hurry as injuries above them on the depth chart thrust them into action, and they will bring coverage and speed to the defense.
The secondary saw three starters leave, but there is plenty of talent ready to replace them. Ellis Robinson IV and K.J. Bolden are five-star recruits that will see the field as true freshmen at safety and cornerback, respectively.
The special teams unit should be solid again for Georgia. Brett Thorson will return for his last season as a Bulldog and has been one of the steadiest punters in the SEC for the last two seasons.
Peyton Woodring took the placekicking job as a true freshman last year and really found his way around the middle of the season. In the return game, Anthony Evans III has the speed to burn opposing teams and will likely get more chances in 2024.
Georgia Bulldogs Toughest Games
So how will Georgia do in their toughest games? Clemson will be a challenge, at least for the first half. The Tigers have a stout defense, but the Bulldogs will wear it down after the intermission.
Clemson’s offense has been so one-dimensional in recent seasons that the Bulldogs should be able to force punt after punt before halftime and leave the Clemson defense exhausted by the middle of the third quarter.
Alabama gets to host Georgia for the second straight season. This could easily turn into a shootout despite the strong defenses that both games have. Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe will turn this into a quarterback duel, and this game will really belong to whichever school scores last.
When Georgia goes to Texas, the Longhorns will be coming off the emotional high of their yearly rivalry game. The Bulldogs will have a much less stressful Week 7, with a manageable home game against Mississippi State.
Expect Austin to be raucous when Georgia shows up, though, and of the three tough road games, this is the most dangerous one, coming at the midpoint of the season.
I see Georgia going 2-1 in these three games. That should get them into the SEC Championship – and the College Football Playoff.
Once they get into that tournament, whether they have a bye or not, their ability to prepare for opponents and play at neutral sites should be a bonus – so long as they don’t have to see Nick Saban on the other sideline.
Sanford Stadium nights are spectacular.#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/CB2BtsKslW
— Georgia Bulldogs (@UGAAthletics) June 22, 2024
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