Kirby Smart, Todd Monken and Stetson Bennett reminded everyone why the Georgia Bulldogs are legitimate national title contenders again in 2022
They lost a record 15 draft picks to the NFL.
They have a former walk-on quarterback who many continue to doubt.
No team has repeated as national champions in almost a decade.
Kirby Smart didn’t care about any of the offseason storylines surrounding his Georgia Bulldogs, and he warned everyone this summer that the reigning champs had every intention of defending their title this fall.
“We didn’t build this program on hoping for one-year-wonders or hoping for one opportunity,” Smart said back in July.
“This program was built to be here for a long time. … We’re hungry as hell.”
It’s just Week 1, but it definitely doesn’t look like an overreaction to say the Georgia Bulldogs should be mentioned in the same breath as Alabama and Ohio State moving forward this fall.
Demise? Regression? Complacency?
All greatly exaggerated.
Smart’s third-ranked Bulldogs roasted the No. 11 Oregon Ducks 49-3 in Atlanta on Saturday, spoiling the head coaching debut of former UGA defensive coordinator Dan Lanning.
“People ask the question, ‘How does it feel to be hunted?’ We will not be hunted at the University of Georgia. I can promise you that,” Smart said at SEC Media Days.
“The huntin’ that we do will be done from us in the other direction. It’s not something that we’re going to sit back and be passive about.”
There was nothing docile about the demolition the ‘Dawgs delivered in the Benz on Saturday.
With vicious efficiency, Georgia carved up Oregon’s defense, scoring seven touchdowns on its first seven drives of the game. The Bulldogs averaged close to a first down per play before garage time. They had more than 575 total yards and were nearly perfect on 3rd down. They had nine passing plays over 20 yards. Oh, and UGA’s reloaded defense, full of new faces like 5-star freshman defensive back Malaki Starks, didn’t allow a touchdown. Again.
Bulldogs offensive coordinator Todd Monken put his former UGA counterpart in a woodchipper, mixing in tempo, unbalanced formations, quick throws, wheel routes and reverses.
Despite his familiarity with UGA’s personnel, Lanning never had a single answer for the ‘Dogs. His decision to turn to former Auburn quarterback Bo Nix, now 0-4 against UGA, turned out poorly, too.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s often-dismissed quarterback Stetson Bennett continues to look pretty damn good under Monken — and improving, too.
You wanted to see a “modern UGA offense?” This was it in spades.
Surrounded by oodles of future pros, the senior was nearly perfect in the first half (18 of 21 with two throws aways), and finished with a career-high 368 passing yards.
Throughout the afternoon, Monken, now in his fourth season in Athens, took advantage of the many Oregon eyes on all-world tight end Brock Bowers, finding space for the rest of UGA’s playmakers.
Bennett connected with nine different receivers, as Kenny McIntosh (team-high nine catches for 117 yards) was an even better version of James Cook as a receiver out of the backfield, while Ladd McConkey was used brilliantly (90 all-purpose yards, two touchdowns).
Title game hero AD Mitchell had multiple big catches, too, and junior tight end Darnell Washington was either seen mauling (via blocks) or hurdling Duck defenders.
It was a balanced and bruising attack. It was a dominant and masterful performance by Monken — one that should vault his name up potential AD Watch Lists this fall should he want to become a head coach again in the future.
Last season’s offense might’ve been overlooked, but Todd Monken went Duck-hunting Saturday and made sure that won’t be an issue this fall.
Bennett looked notably more confident and comfortable as a returning starter. Monken also showed an even better understanding of Bennett’s strengths, as Georgia’s OC did a fantastic job of putting the sixth-year senior in play after play to succeed.
Expect that to be a theme the rest of the season.
A true three-team race for the national title?
Likewise, Georgia’s 46-point win was also a friendly reminder that perhaps Smart’s team might’ve been a tad overlooked entering Saturday.
With so many other storylines dominating college football, the Georgia Bulldogs seemed like the least discussed reigning national champions in recent memory.
From January to August, conference realignment, expanding the College Football Playoff, billion dollar TV deals, NIL and the transfer portal sucked up all the oxygen.
When we were actually talking about teams, preseason prognosticators focused on Alabama, with Will Anderson and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young, and Ohio State, with its star-studded offense. Clemson, Utah and Southern Cal also received plenty of flowers.
But Smart’s team?
Georgia was viewed as a distant third-banana, with many questioning if they could overcome so much talent drain on defense or if Stetson Bennett was actually good enough to lead an elite offense?
Well, the games are finally here, and Georgia looked every bit like a potential repeat national champion led by a quarterback plenty capable of providing offensive fireworks.
Alabama will certainly have its say. Same for Ohio State, but after one week, the Georgia Bulldogs have officially cemented the fact this is a true three-horse race in 2022.
“We haven’t arrived,” Smart said on the field postgame.
Sure enough, but Saturday was a helluva introduction to the 2022 Georgia Bulldogs.