The Georgia Bulldogs made the College Football Playoff last year, but an injury to quarterback Carson Beck helped prevent them from winning the title, which would've been the third for Kirby Smart with the Bulldogs. This year, they figure to once again be in the mix for the playoffs, but one insider isn't sure they'll make it.
Paul Finebaum said that he expects the Bulldogs to be around the fringe, but he's just not sure if Smart has enough talent on the field to get into the top 12. "We all respect Kirby Smart, I think he’s the best coach in college football. But that doesn’t mean anything if you lose players like they have lost over the last couple of years,” Finebaum said this morning on First Take. “Three years ago, that draft in Vegas everyone remembers, it was one Georgia player after another. I’ve never seen anything quite like that. But they haven’t been quite able to fill those needs."
The Bulldogs have seen an incredible exodus of talent over the last few years. They have been an NFL factory, and at some point, the well runs dry. Finebaum just doesn't think they have the talent to keep winning above their level. That isn't an indictment on Smart, but rather high praise for the job he's been able to do.
“And I know the point was made earlier about Stetson Bennett winning two national championships. But he had one of the all-time defenses and I don’t think Georgia has that (this season),” Finebaum added. “That Alabama game is problematic in September, and so are a number of other games that Georgia is going to have to deal with, including a visit from (Texas and quarterback) Arch Manning late in the season.”
Finebaum is perhaps the biggest supporter of Arch Manning and the Texas Longhorns, and he believes that a late-season loss to the Longhorns would really derail a Georgia playoff resume. That's after a crucial game with Alabama, Georgia's rivals. The analyst doesn't foresee them surviving those games well enough to stay in the playoff field for a second year in a row.