Happy Monday. I hope everyone had an amazing holiday weekend.
I want to thank Olivia for filling in for me on the newsletter last week. She did an awesome job.
But I’m so happy to be back with y’all this week — if you’re anything like me, after we’re past July Fourth you start to turn your thoughts to the fall. I know, I know, it’s still in the 80s and very much summer, but after that milestone it feels like football season really is right around the corner.
We’re less than two months away from Georgia’s opener vs. Tennessee State, so let’s dive into some football.
Why battle-tested Georgia is among favorites to win CFP championship
Preseason polls are approaching, and DraftKings Sportsbook, cited by ESPN, has already released its national championship odds.
The Bulldogs, who return 68% of their production from a season ago — 63% on offense, 72% on defense — rank among the betting favorites once again.
Big Ten traditional powerhouse Ohio State is at the top of the odds, followed closely by Notre Dame, which also returns a great deal of talent and benefits from not playing in a conference.
Texas, boosted by the return of Heisman Trophy favorite Arch Manning, has the best odds among the SEC teams.
• Ohio State (+600)
• Notre Dame (+650)
• Texas (+750)
• Indiana (+800)
• Oregon (+800)
• Georgia (+850)
Former Bulldogs quarterback Jake Fromm said on DawgNation Daily that UGA will benefit from the close games of last season.
“This team won a lot of one-score games last year,” Fromm said. “I think that will be so fruitful for this team this year, having been in the fire all those times.”
The Bulldogs came from behind to win in six of their seven SEC victories last season.
“This team should go into camp, and go into the season, with a ton of confidence,” said Fromm, who quarterbacked the Bulldogs from 2017 to 2019 before spending four years on NFL rosters.
The Bulldogs will open the season as heavy home favorites in games against Tennessee State (3 p.m., Sept. 5) and Western Kentucky (12:45 p.m., Sept. 12).
Georgia opens the SEC portion of its schedule with a road game at Arkansas at noon on Sept. 19 before returning home for games with Oklahoma (Sept. 26) and Vanderbilt (Oct. 3) leading into a pivotal road game at Alabama (Oct. 10).
In Georgia’s national championship win vs. Alabama on Jan. 11, 2022, the Bulldogs dominated the fourth quarter. By what margin did they outscore the Crimson Tide in the fourth to clinch the win?
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Colton Nussmeier: Family ties stand out for the Georgia football QB commit
Family ties.
That’s the first read to describe what the Georgia football program is getting in 4-star QB commitment Colton Nussmeier.
He’s a lefty for all those David Greene fans out there. His ball will spin the other way. Nussmeier stands not quite 6 feet, 4 inches and weighs 210 pounds.
Nussmeier is the nation’s No. 17 QB and the No. 216 overall prospect for 2027 on the 247Sports Composite. The Rivals Industry Ranking has him as the No. 17 QB and No. 215 overall.
Nussmeier has a much different background than the typical future UGA signal caller. His father, Doug, is the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints.
He’s spent 11 years as an NFL assistant. This fall will be his 12th season as an offensive coordinator in college or pro football. His father has called plays at Florida and Michigan, but the unique wrinkle here is he was at Alabama from 2012 to 2013.
He was on staff with future Georgia coach Kirby Smart. Those two won a national title together under Nick Saban.
It’s rare to identify a future Georgia player who knew Smart and his family before he became head coach at Georgia — especially one where the connection doesn’t come from Smart’s playing days in Athens.
“He was with him at Alabama,” Colton Nussmeier said. “I’ve known Kirby for a while. It is kind of a full-circle moment. I grew up with his kids. I know his kids. Growing up with someone that my dad knows. My mom is friends with his wife. Just knowing what I’m getting from who is going to be my head coach and just knowing he’s a great guy and I’ve known a lot about him.”
4-star QB Colton Nussmeier committed to the 2027 class at Georgia back on June 5, 2026. He took his official visit to UGA the following weekend. (Courtesy photo)
Colton Nussmeier has a much different background than the typical future UGA signal caller. His father, Doug, is the offensive coordinator of the New Orleans Saints. (Courtesy photo)
The Nussmeier family business is quarterbacking. Colton Nussmeier's father played five years in the NFL after a prolific college career at Idaho, where he won the Walter Payton Award. (Courtesy photo)
The Nussmeier family business is quarterbacking. His father played five years in the NFL after a prolific college career at Idaho, where he won the Walter Payton Award. That hardware is presented annually to the top player in NCAA Division I-AA. He threw for 10,824 yards during his collegiate career with the Vandals.
Garrett Nussmeier, his older brother, was just picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the seventh round of the NFL draft. He was the starting QB for 23 of the 40 games he played for LSU.
Although it may seem like a trivial story, Garrett was with Colton for his official visit to UGA last month.
Peep his older LSU Tiger bro in the back right of that family picture (the middle photo in the section above). He’s wearing a UGA polo. Did Colton have to buy him a new PING driver or promise to wash his car every week for a month to get him in that?
“He just did it to support me,” Colton Nussmeier said.
It was a family thing. Not many SEC siblings would do something like that.
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Trivia answer
20-9. Georgia won the game 33-18
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