After a decade of posting great to elite teams almost every single season, it all finally came together for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs in his sixth year at the helm.
The team won the CFP national championship with one of the greatest defenses in college football history.
Five of those defensive players were drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, including number one overall pick, Travon Walker and in total, an astounding 15 players were drafted off the roster last season.
In spite all those losses, with the infrastructure this team has in place, including one of the best coaches in college football, plenty of returning talent and a strong recruiting class, the pressure will be on to be at least one of the final four teams standing.
In spite playing in the SEC, they allowed just 10 PPG last year, but now with Walker and the rest of the cast, including defensive coordinator Dan Lanning departing, it’ll be next man up.
But they have the talent to do it, starting with DLs Jalen Carter, Travel Walthour and Zion Logue. The secondary also projects to have several future NFLers including safeties Christopher Smith and Tykee Smith. The linebacking core might take a step back, but there’s still star talent in Nolan Smith, Robert Beal and Trezman Marshall. They all have talent and experience to build on.
Add it all up, and this is a team that very well might not miss a beat.
2022 Georgia Bulldogs NCAA Football Futures Odds
- Odds to win the 2022-23 NCAA Championship: 4/1
- Odds to win the 2022 SEC Conferences: +155
- Odds to win the 2022 SEC East Division: -550
- 2022 Regular Season Win Total: Over 10½ (-260)
- Odds to Make the Playoffs: Yes -110 | No -120
- 2022 Heisman Contenders: Stetson Bennett IV +6600, Kendall Milton +10000 & Brock Bowers +15000
- Official website: georgiadogs.com
- Twitter Account : @GeorgiaFootball
Odds to win the 2022-23 NCAA Championship: 4/1
The defense got most of the press, but the offense was no slouch either, averaging 39 PPG and 443 YPG. There are also less pieces to replace than the defense and that starts at QB with incumbent Stetson Bennett returning to guide the ship.
They have arguably the most talented tight end group in the nation and most of the receivers are back as well.
The biggest question marks will be at running back, with both James Cook and Zamir White gone and the left side of the offensive line needing replacement. But those replacements are sophomores who got to apprentice last year.
That level of all around talent on both sides of the ball means Georgia can’t be ignored as a true threat to repeat. It hasn’t been done in the CFP era and there’s a lot of competition this year, but it’s still worth a bet.
The Verdict: A worthy favorite makes them worth a bet
Odds to win the 2022 SEC Conference: +155
One of the two favorites to win the SEC. They play in the weaker division and they have a favorable schedule. Forgotten in the championship season is that they actually lost the SEC Championship to Alabama. That should help motivate them this year.
The Verdict: Worth a bet
Odds to win the 2022 SEC East Division: -550
The Bulldogs are the strong favorites to win the SEC East. It would be their sixth in seven years, with the one exception being the awkward Covid season. On paper, they are the best team in the division. The only betting question is if it’s worth spending money on these low odds. It would take a big investment to get a reasonable return.
The Verdict: Skip it unless you have deep pockets
2022 Regular Season Win Total: Over 10½ (-260)
They open with a bang, hosting #11 Oregon. It might very well be their biggest test of the season. No Alabama, no Texas A&M. no LSU, no Arkansas and only four road games all season.
This team has 11, if not 12 wins written all over it.
The only question again is how much you have to spend with these kinds of odds.
The Verdict: Worth the bet if you have moderately deep pockets
Odds to Make the Playoffs: Yes -110 | No -120
The Bulldogs have set the bar this high, now that they’ve won it all. What it also means is that if it’s a close call between them and a conference champ in a weaker division, they’ll likely get the benefit of the doubt.
The Verdict: Worth a bet
2022 Heisman Contenders: Stetson Bennett IV +6600, Kendall Milton +10000 Brock Bowers +15000
Bennett is an efficient QB, and is likely to start every game this year. His numbers suffered last year with JT Daniels starting the season as QB. At the same time, he’s almost exclusively a pocket QB, and not of the absolute elite variety. Hard to see him winning it all.
The Verdict: Skip it
Milton gets the first crack at being the lead back and there are nearly 1,600 yards and 18 touchdowns of production to replace with the top two backs gone. But running backs so rarely win the Heisman (once in the last ten years) and this team will likely give many players in this talented backfield a chance to carry the rock.
The Verdict: Skip it
Bowers at tight end would be the first to ever win the Heisman playing that position. Hard to see it happening here, especially with a strength in numbers crew.
The Verdict: Skip it
Odds According to Bovada as of August, 2022
Georgia Bulldogs 2022 Schedule
| SEASON | |||
| Date | Time | Opponent | TV |
| 3-Sep | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Oregon* | ABC |
| 10-Sep | 4:00 p.m. | Samford* | SECN |
| 17-Sep | 12:00 p.m. | at South Carolina | ESPN |
| 24-Sep | 12:00 p.m. | Kent State* | SECN+/ESPN+ |
| 1-Oct | at Missouri | ||
| 8-Oct | Auburn | ||
| 15-Oct | Vanderbilt | ||
| 29-Oct | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Florida | CBS |
| 5-Nov | Tennessee | ||
| 12-Nov | at Mississippi State | ||
| 19-Nov | at Kentucky | ||
| 26-Nov | Georgia Tech* | ||
Home stadium: Sanford Stadium, Athens, GA
*Non-conference game – All times are in Eastern time
Bet on the Georgia Bulldogs 2022 Season at Bovada Sportsbook.
