College football officially begins this month.
Now that it's August, there are less than two weeks until Kansas State and Iowa State meet in Dublin to begin the 2025 regular season. And since the season is quickly approaching, we're rolling out our preseason Top 25.
Next up in our rankings is the No. 5 team, and the rest will be revealed in the coming days. (All odds are from BetMGM.)
Previously: Nos. 11 through 25, No. 10 Miami, No. 9 Alabama, No. 8 Notre Dame, No. 7 LSU, No. 6 Ohio State
No. 5 Georgia
2024 record: 11-3
National championship odds: +700
Odds to make College Football Playoff: -285
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2024 in 100 words
The Bulldogs throttled Clemson in the opener to exhibit why they were the No. 1 team in the country to begin the season. However, the flaws of this Georgia team were on full display in the first half of a 41-34 loss at Alabama in Week 5. Yes, Georgia made a valiant effort to come back and almost win, but the Bulldogs’ offense simply wasn’t as good as it needed to be in key moments.
Georgia got a big 30-15 win over Texas in October, but scored just 10 points in a loss at Ole Miss. The Bulldogs again beat the Longhorns in the SEC championship game, but scored 10 points in the Sugar Bowl against Notre Dame and went one-and-done in the College Football Playoff.
The quarterback
Gunner Stockton
Stockton got an early introduction as Georgia’s starting QB. He was forced to enter the SEC title game in the second half after Carson Beck suffered what turned out to be a season-ending elbow injury on the final play of the first half. Stockton started the Sugar Bowl and wasn’t overwhelmed; he was 20-of-32 passing for 234 yards and a TD.
“The one thing that I really appreciate about Gunner and most quarterbacks is he prepared every game as if he was the starter,” Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said.
“People can say that and say that’s coach-speak, but he actually did it. He went in, watched extra tape, and he knew that at any point in time, he could be called up to go into the game and play. And he didn’t play in a normal environment where you’ve got a big lead, maybe you’re beating an opponent. [Against Texas] he went in against a top defense in the country in one of the biggest games of the season and performed well for a guy that had not gotten a lot of reps with the ones.”
He got a full spring’s worth of reps as the starter in the offseason and enters 2025 as the undisputed No. 1 QB.
“I think going through spring was a big deal and just having that time because it was about a month straight of work and practice, just getting a lot of banked reps,” Stockton said. “And having this offseason, throwing 7-on-7 and working out almost every day and spending a lot of time together has helped a lot.”
Non-QB to watch
WR Zachariah Branch
Beck’s struggles in 2024 after a breakout 2023 season drew a lot of headlines. But there were multiple reasons for his increase in interceptions as Georgia searched for reliable targets after the departures of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey to the NFL.
Dominic Lovett was Georgia’s leading receiver but he averaged just over 10 yards a catch. Arian Smith was the team’s deep threat, but he was inconsistent. Running back Trevor Etienne had the fourth-most catches on the team and he averaged just 6 yards a reception.
Georgia and Smart made the receiving group a priority in the transfer portal. Branch arrives from USC along with Texas A&M wide receiver Noah Thomas. Former Miami wide receiver Colbie Young will be in his second season at Georgia.
Branch can be a game-breaker, though Georgia needs to figure out how to use him better than USC did at times. Branch had six catches for 98 yards against Michigan and six grabs for 102 yards against Washington. He also had three catches for 10 yards against Minnesota, two for 6 yards against Penn State and two for 13 yards against UCLA.
Best position group
Defensive backs
Georgia’s defense took a bit of a step back in 2024. Opposing teams averaged over 5 yards a play for the first time since 2016 and opposing QBs completed 59% of their passes for 200 yards a game.
Even though the secondary loses Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson, it has the potential to be better in 2025. Daylen Everette returns at cornerback and KJ Bolden can be the next star Georgia safety. He had 59 tackles as a freshman in 2024. The defense also added safety Zion Branch — Zachariah’s brother — from USC, Miami’s Jaden Harris and former UAB safety Adrian Maddox. There’s a lot of depth here.
It’s next man up like it typically is at Georgia across every defensive unit, and the secondary could be the best of the bunch.
Biggest game
Nov. 15 vs. Texas
Georgia gets to live the good side of the SEC’s schedule rotation this season. After the conference expanded to 16 teams in 2024, the Bulldogs drew road games against Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas. Now all three of those teams come to Athens, while Georgia visits Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State. Those are the only three true road games Georgia plays all season. The trip to Starkville will be the Bulldogs’ longest of the regular season.
We could pick from any of those three big home games, but we’ll go with Texas. It’s the final conference game of the season for the Bulldogs. Georgia may need a win to get into the SEC title game while everyone else in the league sweats out another conference game or two before December.
Why Georgia is No. 5
This is where years and years of recruiting prowess pay off. Georgia may not have a bunch of players on this year’s team who casual fans know about. But there’s a ton of talent across the roster and it’s all but certain that stars will emerge over the course of the season. At SEC media days, Smart noted that over half his roster was entering their first or second year at Georgia.
The offense should be much more like it was in 2023 than 2024. Georgia averaged 92 fewer yards per game a season ago and 1.3 fewer yards per play compared to 2023. And it wasn’t just the passing game that suffered, either. Injuries in the running back room took a toll as freshman Nate Frazier ended up as the team’s leading rusher. He’s back, and there are four new starters on the offensive line. Despite the new faces up front, the run game should improve.
Stockton should also shine at quarterback. With more playmakers on offense, he can play the role of distributor. It felt like Beck needed to force things too often in 2024. A favorable schedule should put the Bulldogs in prime position for yet another SEC title.
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