The Big Ten has dominated college football since Georgia won back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022. Michigan, Ohio State and Indiana have taken the Big Ten to the top of the sport the last three years, and they were able to win championships in a very similar way.
All three teams exploited their experience to help carry them to National Championships. Each team was made up of very old players, with a large portion of them playing their fourth, fifth and even sixth seasons of college football.
This trend makes it seem like Kirby Smart should try to make Georgia as old as possible, he however opted to put together an extremely young team. Who knows if he did this on purpose or not, but Georgia reportedly is the youngest team in the country this season.
Georgia comes into the season as the youngest team in the country based on average age.
— College Football Zone (@CollegeFBonX) July 15, 2026
Here are the 25 youngest teams this season. https://t.co/3HwwnrwnVE pic.twitter.com/pneWQUFPiN
Can Georgia win a National Championship with the youngest team in the country?
This may seem like a misstep by Smart at first. If the last three National Champions all won with really old teams, then shouldn't that be the exact strategy Smart should try to use?
That's not a bad thought process, but Smart has other plans. Smart knew that his team would be full of experience from last year's team who just won the SEC. In fact, the Bulldogs have the fifth-most returning production in the country this season.
It would've been silly for Smart to recruit older players over the guys who just won an SEC title last year, so Smart is opting to ride with the guys who already proved they can win championships.
Georgia will also benefit this season from having the "easiest" schedule in the SEC. That doesn't mean they are guaranteed to win the conference, but the defending champions having a lot of returning production back with an easier schedule should expect to find a lot of success.
Georgia's youth will benefit them in the long run
Georgia's youth shouldn't hold them back this season since a big portion of this group already won the SEC. So instead of their youth being a negative, it may be the best thing going for them right now.
A young team means that players have a lot of eligibility left. These aren't just any players either, they are players who have proven they can win at the highest level. So if Georgia plays their cards right they can benefit from having these young players play for a few seasons even after this year.
In order for that to happen though Smart needs to make sure these players don't transfer in the offseason. For the most part Georgia has been able to avoid losing big name players to the portal every year, but at any moment that could flip and they could lose a few really good players.
Smart however has done a good job at prioritizing keeping his roster in tact each year, that is why he spends NIL money on his current team versus paying for new recruits. So as long as Smart can keep this youth in Athens, they eventually will become older players with loads of experience who are ready to win a National Championship, if they haven't done so already.
Add us as a preferred source on Google