SEC teams fall into one of four categories for Georgia fans.
There are teams that most Georgia fans won’t waste heartbeats talking about unless they’re the next opponent (Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, etc.).
The next tier would be respected opponents. These teams are recognized by Georgia fans, but are by no means a main target of smack talk (Missouri, Texas A&M, etc.).
Then there are teams that annually threaten Georgia’s reign on the SEC, but aren’t traditional rivals. High-stakes losses could cause recent animosity much more intense than the historical relationship would indicate (LSU, Ole Miss, maybe Alabama).
And last, you have your cold-blooded rivals. Teams like Florida, Tennessee and Auburn that — no matter how little of a threat they pose to Georgia or how humanitarian their head coach is — will be hated by Bulldog fans.
Wonderful. Now that we have that established and all completely agree, I have a question.
Where do you think Texas is?
We’ll examine that and the rest of the news in our coverage below.
Trivia time
How many former Georgia players are rostered with the Atlanta Falcons right now?
Happy guessing. Answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Georgia-Texas: Just a phase, or a new rival being born?
The knee-jerk reaction to the question above is repeating the old adage.
“Ain’t a rivalry if both sides don’t win.”
It might be true, and up to this point Texas is winless against Georgia since joining the SEC. At least, they are on the field.
But there’s an off-the-field war being waged, a new threat to Georgia’s recent dominance of the SEC. The Longhorns took a PR win with two defeats of Georgia on the recruiting trail Tuesday.
Losing 5-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and 4-star defensive lineman James Johnson in a matter of hours definitely aggravated Georgia fans. A quick trip to any social media platform where recruiting is followed shows plenty of animosity in the comment sections between Texas and Georgia fans.
Everyone can’t agree who the SEC’s top team is, but nearly everyone can say it’s either the Longhorns or the Bulldogs.
If it stays that way for the foreseeable future — frequent, high-stakes battles on and off the field — could a new rivalry be birthed in the SEC?
Check out one Georgia player’s answer in the story below.
Abrams picked Georgia over Oregon, Alabama and Michigan. Georgia now has 29 commits in its class, which is ranked No. 2 in the country according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
“A big thing for me was the development part,” Abrams said during his commitment ceremony “Coach (Glenn) Schumann and Coach Smart coaching three Butkus Award winners and then having multiple first round draft picks, multiple successful linebackers in the NFL.”
Abrams might see another Butkus Award winner or two before he gets a chance to start in Athens. That’s because CJ Allen is hunting the award himself, backed up by several 5-star linebackers in Chris Cole and Justin Williams.
“I think the development piece speaks for itself,” Allen said at SEC Media Days. “There’s no other place you can go where you’re coached by the best and play with the best. I think the biggest thing is the people you’re around and the people in the building. It’s great people. I think elite wanna play with elite and the best wanna play with the best.”
Why Gunner doesn’t need to be the SEC’s best for Georgia to be
There are many SEC teams that need their quarterback to be the top offensive performer for them to win.
We saw this last year with Alabama. When Jalen Milroe was elite, no one could stop Kalen DeBoer’s squad.
But when Milroe was off, the Tide had nowhere to turn.
Georgia’s roster is not built that way, and that’s as good of news for quarterback Gunner Stockton as it is for any other single offensive player. If Georgia’s roster works the way it’s designed, Stockton will obviously play a key role, but so will several other weapons.
That starts with the offensive line, where Georgia hopes for a much stronger year. Projected first-year starters Drew Bobo, Monroe Freeling and Micah Morris hope to change the narrative surrounding UGA’s run game in 2025.
Nate Frazier leads a stable of Georgia running backs, followed by Illinois transfer Josh McCray and freshman bruiser Bo Walker. Two veteran tight ends and a revamped receiver room leaves plenty of hope for better pass-catching performances ahead.
For a job as complex as quarterback, Stockton takes a very simple view.
“I just control what I control and just go to work every day and put our team in the best position we can be,” Stockton said.
Reacting to a call by officials that negated a Texas interception during the Longhorns' game against Georgia last October, Texas fans threw plastic bottles and other trash on the field.
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Quote of the Day
Texas QB Arch Manning on if he’s earned his preseason hype, Heisman talk:
“I’m not really in the business of — and this is going to sound mean — but like, caring what other people think. But I’m grateful that you all think that, but I’ve only played, what, two games? So I’ve got a lot to prove. But yeah, I’m ready to play though.”
What social media said about UGA at SECMD
With Georgia’s eventful SEC Media Days appearance in the rearview mirror, there is plenty of online reaction to take in.
You could spend all day surfing for the best reaction and analysis. But then you probably wouldn’t be doing your job.
So, we’ve compiled all the best into one little DawgNation story for you to scroll in a matter of minutes. Check it out below, and enjoy.
