What We Will Learn About Georgia in the Playoff this Year
In just a few short weeks, Georgia will make its third college football playoff appearance under Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs hold a 3-1 record in the playoff under Smart with their lone loss coming in the national championship back in 2017. Smart has proven he can win on the sport's biggest stage and lead his team to a national championship after last season.
But even with the amount of playoff experience Smart and his team have gained over the years, they still have something to prove that has not yet been seen before under this regime.
Can Georgia win from the top of the pedestal?
That's not just a question of whether or not the Bulldogs can win as the top seed or even piece together a completely flawless season. The question is: Can Georgia go into a playoff on top and remain the king of the hill when it is all said and done?
This is new territory for Kirby Smart. Not a single time in the six seasons prior did Georgia run the gauntlet through 13 games. He did this season and his team earned the top spot in the playoff after their win in the SEC Championship and remains the odds-on favorite to take home the title.
In their previous two appearances, it took Georgia avenging their loss against Auburn to stamp their name into the final four. Last year, they earned their spot by going undefeated in the regular season, and the committee not having to think twice about their SEC Championship loss to Alabama possibly keeping them out. Even then, not many people thought they would win a rematch with the Tide if it came down to it. This year they come in unscathed and all eyes are on them to hoist up the trophy when January rolls around.
The expectations for Georgia are a little different this time around. It's one thing to win every game you were supposed to during the regular season. That's impressive on its own. But what would really put the college football world on notice is going into this year's playoff as the golden child, stomping through the next two games, and becoming the first team in college football playoff history to repeat.
That's easier said than done of course and that's what we will learn about Georgia this year. Never in this situation have they ever been foreseen as the favorite to come out on top.
Smart said before the season, "We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that. The hunting we do will be from us going the other direction."
There are three teams still hunting Georgia and it's time to see if Smart's words remain to be true after this year's playoff.
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