![Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Walter Blanchard (28), defensive back Jake Pope (22), Georgia Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier (3) and place kicker Peyton Woodring (91) celebrate after the game of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,x_0,y_0,w_6000,h_3375/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/153/01jbqv5t9jpmd7exdqc2.jpg "Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver Walter Blanchard (28), defensive back Jake Pope (22), Georgia Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier (3) and place kicker Peyton Woodring (91) celebrate after the game of an NCAA college football matchup Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024 at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Florida Gators 34-20. [Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union]")
Georgia football escaped with a 34-20 victory over rival Florida on Saturday, but the game was much closer than the final score indicates. A lot of people expected the game to be this close, even the sportsbooks had Georgia favored by 14.5 points, but it was the way the game went down that was very concerning.
Florida at times looked like the better team, especially in the first half before quarterback DJ Lagway got hurt. So even thought most Georgia fans thought the game could be close, likely nobody thought Florida would look comparable to Georgia.
So where does this leave Georgia? Obviously all of their goals are still in front of them including an SEC and national championship, but is it still realistic to say that the Bulldogs are a national title contender in the College Football Playoffs?
Is Georgia still a favorite to win a national championship?
Based off this performance alone it'd be quite easy to say the Georgia is not a national championship contender. But judging Georgia off one game is not the way to answer this question.
Sure Georgia has had some questionable wins this season, which includes this win over Florida and their tight wins over Kentucky and Mississippi State. But every great team in college football has extremely close wins from time to time as well. Even in the years Georgia won their national championships there were games like this where Georgia did not look that great.
But when you look at Georgia as a whole, it is clear that this win, no matter how bad of a win it may have been, does not change the fact that they are legit contenders to win a national championship. Maybe the chances of them doing so has dropped a little bit, but the fact remains that they can still win it all.
Now that doesn't mean Georgia doesn't have a lot to improve on in order to accomplish that. Carson Beck has to be a lot better, the defense needs to learn how to defend against a QB like Lagway, and even Kirby Smart and the coaching staff need to be better. But the foundation is still there to win a national championship, it's just a matter if Georgia will go out and do it or not.