Happy Monday, all! This is Connor Riley, who will be filling in this week for Sarah Spencer. I can only hope to do as well as she has since taking this space over.

The positive is that we’ve still got a ton to unpack from last week’s SEC media days.

Perhaps the comment I enjoyed the most last week was how tired Kirby Smart is about discussing the future and landscape of college football. It’s obviously a big topic, but at this point it feels like we’ve just gone around in circles about what could be done.

Smart added he wanted to talk about what his team does to win games. I believe he’s going to have plenty to say in that regard this season because I think Georgia will win a lot, if not all, of its games.

Smart has repeatedly said he likes what this team can do. It’s not a perfect team, but it’s clearly one that is set to improve over the course of the season.

That is only more apparent coming out of SEC media days last week.

Georgia picked to win the SEC

Hand up, I was outright surprised to see that Georgia was voted by the league’s media to win the SEC.

The Bulldogs have won the SEC the past two seasons and got a rather favorable schedule, comparatively speaking.

Still, I had thought that everyone would be eager to anoint Texas, given how quarterback Arch Manning finished last season. Add in what Texas did in the transfer portal, and I thought a lot of last season’s sins would be forgiven.

Last year, with an unproven Manning, Texas was picked to win the league over Georgia. The Longhorns earned 96 first-place votes to Georgia’s 44.

Yet the end of the season rolled round, and Georgia was back in Atlanta while Steve Sarkisian was lobbying for a 9-3 Texas to make the College Football Playoff.

The Longhorns were picked to finish second in the league, with Ole Miss coming in third. Georgia had 88 first-place votes, and Texas had 57.

Georgia is the model of consistency in the SEC. The Bulldogs have made eight of the past nine SEC championship games and four of the previous five College Football Playoffs.

With the lofty media ranking, Georgia won’t be able to play the overlooked or underdog card entering this season. This is a talented Georgia team, one that is expected to accomplish great things.

Read the full story to learn more.

Offensive lineman Drew Bobo during Georgia's game against Kentucky on Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens last year. (Tony Walsh/UGAAA 2025)

Georgia redshirt junior OT Earnest Greene III was a key factor in the 28-7 SEC Championship win over Alabama on Dec. 6, 2025, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Georgia defensive back KJ Bolden during Georgia's game against Kentucky on Oct. 4, 2025. (Conor Dillon/UGAAA)

Georgia defensive back Ellis Robinson IV during Georgia's win over Alabama in the 2025 SEC Championship on Dec. 6, 2025. (Conor Dillon/UGAAA)

The DawgNation crew of Brandon Adams (from left), Kaylee Mansell and Connor Riley attend the 2026 SEC media days. (Cody Chaffins/DawgNation)

Yes that is the same picture from Friday’s newsletter. Yes, after attending 11 SEC media days I still cannot keep my eyes open for a picture.

The video team of Brandon Adams, Cody Chaffins and Kaylee Mansell absolutely crushed it last week. Even though much of the heavy lifting was done Tuesday, the team is still churning out content from the massive event.

• Kaylee Mansell talks with Cole Cubelic about the annual excellence from Kirby Smart.
• Brandon Adams talks with former Alabama running back Damien Harris about what is missing from Alabama.
• Quarterback Gunner Stockton shares his thoughts on the injury to running back Dante Dowdell.
• SEC commissioner Greg Sankey sits down and addresses the biggest issues with the sport.

Trivia section

Who was the last preseason SEC champion to actually win the conference?

Advertisement

Georgia tied with Texas, Oklahoma for most All-SEC selections

When you consider how Georgia stacked the various All-SEC teams, it’s understandable why they were the pick to win the league.

Georgia placed 12 players on the three teams.

Four Bulldogs earned First Team honors, with offensive tackle Earnest Greene and Drew Bobo representing the offensive line. The other two selections came in the defensive backfield; safety KJ Bolden and cornerback Ellis Robinson earned the nod.

On the second team, Georgia had five players make the cut. Running back Nate Frazier, tight end Lawson Luckie and offensive guard Dontrell Glover were selected. Defensive lineman Elijah Griffin and linebacker Raylen Wilson were tabbed as the second-team defensive players.

Quarterback Gunner Stockton, defensive end Gabe Harris and safety Khalil Barnes rounded things out on the third team.

Two notable omissions from the All-SEC teams include linebacker Chris Cole and kicker Peyton Woodring. It would not be a surprise at all to see those two players appear on the postseason list.

Georgia tied with Texas and Oklahoma for the most selections. Georgia does not play Texas this season, but the Bulldogs do face the Sooners on Sept. 16

Read the full story on the preseason All-SEC teams here.

Steve Sarkisian sounds off on Georgia

Steve Sarkisian was asked at SEC media days what Texas can do to chase down Georgia.

Despite all the offseason love, the on-field results show Georgia is still a notch above the Longhorns. Since joining the league, the Bulldogs are 3-0 against the Longhorns. Georgia has won in Austin, Texas; Atlanta; and Athens.

Even before the SEC announced Georgia had been voted above Texas in the predicted order of finish, the Texas coach was asked what the Longhorns can do to ultimately catch the Bulldogs.

“‘If you want to be the champion, you got to beat the champion.’ It’s no more fitting for us. We’ve played Georgia three times,” Sarkisian said. “They’ve beaten us. All the credit in the world to Kirby, their team. They’re tough. They’re good. If we want to be a champion, I’m guessing we’ll probably have to beat the champion to make that happen.”

Sarkisian was not the only coach to have Georgia on his mind last week, as Florida’s Jon Sumrall, South Carolina’s Shane Beamer and others touched on Smart’s team last week.

You can read the full story here.

The Bulldogs beat Alabama 28-7 on Dec. 6, 2025, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Jeff Sentell/DawgNation)

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and players celebrate victory over Texas in overtime during the SEC Championship game Dec. 7, 2024, in Atlanta. (Hyosub Shin/AJC)

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart enters Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the SEC Championship game against the LSU Tigers in 2022. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Former Georgia athletic director and coach Vince Dooley (left) and coach Kirby Smart share a moment after the Bulldogs defeated Auburn in the SEC Championship in 2017. (Curtis Compton/AJC)

Advertisement

Trivia answer

Georgia in 2024. The Bulldogs beat Texas in the SEC Championship game