What’s the narrative that is looming in the college football landscape with only one month left to pull up the curtains? One man’s food is another man’s poison. Right now, Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns must be planning a grand party. After all, they unlocked one of their biggest boost to take up the 2025 challenge. On July 17, On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy came up with the ‘SEC preseason media poll’.

The Longhorns find themselves at the No.1 rank with 96 1st place votes. And who will be the most upset to learn about this? Has to be the Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart. The preseason poll has given away the top rank to Texas. Now, they have Smart’s program sitting at number two. And it’s hard for the head coach to digest. 

On July 19, Dawgnation posted on Instagram, “Georgia not picked to win the SEC for the first time since 2022.” As per the reports, the vote count for Smart’s squad’s chances to win the SEC Championship is 44. Yes, there are not many reasons to follow them blindly. Only 10 times since 1992 has the predicted champion prior to the season at SEC Media Days proceeded to win the SEC Championship Game.

But given Smart’s program that is healing from a Sugar Bowl loss and a missed Natty ticket, the Bulldogs must already be jumping at shadows. On top of that, last year, the media’s preseason poll correctly picked that Smart’s boys would beat Texas in the SEC championship. They had pinned high hopes on Georgia (165 points to win the SEC) in 2024. However, this year, they run low in confidence about Smart’s program pulling out the winning card. 

And what else can we make out of this projection? As everyone knows, these two sides faced each other not once, but twice last season. Smart and Co. traveled to No. 1 Texas during the regular season. And the end result? Smart’s boys brought back a dominant road victory at home in Athens. But their fight for the SEC title was the real deal. Gunner Stockton, a little-known backup who had barely played for Georgia, came off the bench after an injury to Carson Beck. With this, the impossible happened. Smart’s Bulldogs scored an improbable 22-19 overtime victory over Sarkisian’s boys. Do you remember what Smart said in his post-victory speech?

As the confetti fell at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, the proud head coach said, “This team never, ever says no.” Now, in this season, they are predicted to lose against Texas. What is Smart’s reaction? “To beat good teams, you’ve got to be a good team. We had a good football team last year. So did they. It’s not about us as coaches. It’s really about the players and what you believe in. We got a lot of really good football teams to play next year besides just Texas, so we’re preparing for all of them,” said the head coach to the Athens Banner-Herald. This season, the Smart vs Sarkisian big face-off is scheduled for November 15 in Sanford Stadium. Now, what about the ones running the 2025 show in Smart’s program? 

Brett McMurphy sees glory ahead for Kirby Smart’s Georgia

Eleven Georgia players were voted to the media’s All-SEC preseason team. Smart’s defensive lineman Christen Miller, linebacker CJ Allen, and defensive back KJ Bolden are among the few others on the first team. The second team features tight end Oscar Delp with running back Nate Frazier, and offensive lineman Earnest Greene on the third team. Even in terms of players, Texas has beaten Smart’s Georgia. On July 17, Inside Texas tweeted, “TRENDING🚨 Texas had 5 players selected First Team Preseason All-SEC🤘 The Longhorns led the SEC with 13 total selections🐂.”

While Smart must be desperately looking for some light at the end of the dark tunnel, On3’s Brett McMurphy’s take from a few days might have come to his help. But can he count on the analyst anymore, who now puts Texas on the pedestal? As per his projections, the Bulldogs will be the sixth-ranked seed in this year’s College Football Playoff and will face the third-ranked Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl. He came up with his ‘College Football Playoff Prediction’ on July 1. Going by the graphics, there is one segment headlining, “COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF PROJECTING 12-TEAM FIELD.” Under the ‘2025’ champion category, one could find Smart’s program’s Big ‘G’ logo. So what will be the path that Georgia would take to add their third Natty feather?

As per the projections, Georgia beats Clemson and Penn State in the quarterfinal and semifinal, respectively. Kirby Smart and co. will then be facing off against Ohio State (No.4 seed) and will land Ryan Day’s Buckeyes a defeat. Definitely, Smart’s program has been blessed with a difficult slate as they will be facing off against blue-blooded programs like Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss. However, on the other hand, they got the luck on their side as the majority of their difficult games will be played in Athens. Are the Bulldogs headed for a season of underachievement, as the SEC Media preseason poll might suggest? Or will they bulldoze their way to a national title like Brett McMurphy expected?