No. 3 Georgia’s quest to be the first team to repeat as College Football Playoff champions starts in a familiar place against a few familiar faces to the Bulldogs. Georgia will take on No. 11 Oregon and former Auburn starting quarterback Bo Nix as 17-point favorites Saturday inside Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium — which, of course, is the annual site of the SEC Championship Game. Meanwhile, ex-Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning — one of the architects of last season’s defense in Athens — will be taking on his mentor, Kirby Smart, in Lanning’s first game as a head coach.
Bulldogs senior quarterback Stetson Bennett IV went from walk-on to hero when he led the Dawgs to a national championship, earning him first-team snaps in an offseason for the first time since high school. Can Bennett pick up where he left off at the end of last season?
Let’s preview the matchup and make picks for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between the Bulldogs and Ducks.
Georgia vs. Oregon: Need to know
The Bulldogs are still loaded on defense: The 2022 NFL Draft contained a distinct red and black tint, with five members of the 2021 defense going in the first round and 15 players overall moving on to the next level. Don’t let those numbers fool you, though. Georgia is still loaded on that side of the ball.
Defensive tackle Jalen Carter will be the centerpiece of the new-look defensive line and veteran linebacker Nolan Smith is back. Anchoring the second level is senior Robert Beal at SAM, and the secondary is still solid with corner Kelee Ringo and safety Christopher Smith. Is it going to be as good as last year’s defense? Probably not — asking for that is unrealistic — but the fact that some key cogs are back along with highly touted prospects to fill in the gaps should make this a top-10 defense yet again.
Will Nix turn things around?: The senior quarterback for the Ducks knows Georgia from his time at Auburn, but he wasn’t exactly a difference-maker. Nix went 75 of 133 passing (56.4%) for 694 yards (231.3 YPG) with one touchdown and two interception in three games against the Bulldogs. Is that going to change now that he’s playing in the Pacific Northwest? Maybe. He has some decent receivers and tight ends to work with and familiarity with offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham from their time together with the Tigers. Nix has been had plenty of highs and lows throughout his career, but…
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