Kirby Smart, Georgia found an obscure way to win compared to all other CFP teams

Georgia football capped of an impressive 12-1 season that ended with an SEC Championship. They also look like one of the favorites to win the College Football Playoff with the playoff kicking off this weekend.

Georgia however is getting it done on the field in a very obscure way compared to the rest of the CFP teams. All 11 other teams to make the playoff are doing so on the backs of a lot of transfers, but that is not happening at Georgia. In fact, Georgia is relying on transfers significantly less than every other CFP team to the point where they are a significant outlier in the below data.

Georgia, Kirby Smart proving they don't need the Transfer Portal like other teams

The Transfer Portal has quickly taken over the sport of college football. It is nearly impossible to win nowadays without relying on the portal to some capacity, but Georgia is proving that narrative wrong.

The above data shows that only 10 percent of Georgia's starters this season were transfers. The next closest team is Ohio State who is close to 30 percent of their starters being transfers. Then there are teams like Ole Miss and Indiana on the opposite end of the spectrum who have close to 70 percent of their starters made up of transfers.

It is far more common to have teams made up of transfers in college football nowadays. But Kirby Smart has proven that to not be the case at Georgia. Sure he does still use the portal and a player like wide receiver Zachariah Branch stands out, but overall he is still relying on his high school recruits to lead his teams.

That strategy is clearly still working, but how sustainable it is remains to be seen. But if Georgia continues to bring in elite recruiting classes every year and keeps their good players out of the portal, then there is no reason for Smart to ever chance this strategy.