There is a weird phenomenon occurring in the SEC this offseason. Georgia football is coming off an SEC Championship and are a top five team in the country entering this season as well, but no one is talking about them. In fact, whenever college football fans or reporters talk about Georgia they’re usually claiming they stand no chance at repeating as SEC Champions.
Why is this the case? Why isn’t Georgia getting the respect they deserve for being ranked so high to start the season and being the defending SEC Champion?
The Texas Longhorns are the reason why, and Georgia fans should be happy that is the case.
Texas is the team being hunted, not Georgia
Every team in the SEC wants to be the program that knocks off the reigning SEC Champion every season. That was one of UGA’s biggest motivators when they were attempting to surpass Alabama as the best program in the conference in the late 2010s and early 2020s.
So since Georgia won the SEC last season and is a preseason top five team, most would assume that every team will give Georgia their best shot. While that may be the case still, the team that is being hunted the most is Texas.
The Longhorns are the favorite to win the SEC this year while also being the preseason No. 1 team in the country. Texas is the only thing some of the media want to talk about, and the hype surrounding the Longhorns is driving everyone in the SEC mad.
So instead of Georgia being the team the rest of the SEC wants to beat the most, it’s the Longhorns that actually have to deal with that meaning the rest of the conference might take it a little easier on UGA.
Extra motivation for Kirby Smart, Georgia
The last thing Kirby Smart needs is more motivation. Smart is the best in the business when it comes to motivating his team as he is able to come up with unique ways every season to keep his team focused.
Smart however doesn’t have to do anything extra this year after all the hype Texas has received this offseason.
Georgia just beat this Texas team not once, but twice last year. Those wins however apparently do not matter because the media is already crowning Texas as the best team to ever exist. Some have even said that the Longhorns are the new Alabama, which is a weird claim to make considering they haven’t even won the SEC yet.
Texas isn’t to blame for this extra motivation Georgia now has, but the Bulldogs should definitely be thankful that everyone doubts them and is putting all their chips on Texas, because Smart certainly will use this as his next motivation tactic.